@davidshq some large, long wars may have occurred. Not that large long wars didn't occur, just that there would've been different ones. Probably one in Europe US v USSR, and maybe one in Asia USSR v China. And a bunch of others all over Eurasia. Maybe we'd be out of oil by this point, since those would burn up oil like crazy.
Mutual nuclear weapons haven't been much of a deterrent against war, maybe a deterrent against war involving nuclear weapons.
@johnefrancis I agree that it hasn't prevented a lot of wars though I wonder if it increased indirect conflict and triangulation - e.g., major powers fought proxy wars rather than directly to avoid nuclear annihilation?
@davidshq I lean towards more & larger hot wars, and that's very bad for economic and science/tech development. It's extremely wasteful. Nuclear weapons & hardware are expensive too, but less so if you never use them.
Still, maybe hot wars coming home to the large powers would've checked them, shortening the worst of communism and/or capitalism and bringing on a larger, stable, just society. Seems like a rough way to get there.
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