I can’t speak for the Global North, but I find it hard to believe that those launching nuclear weapons would just shoot them everywhere all over the place at civilians, that would be ridiculously stupid, even in an extreme scenario, all but signing the death warrant of the human species, and targeting civilian and food storehouses and infrastructure would be worse than pointless, it would be stupid.
I don't know what about the history of the United States government would lead you to believe that they wouldn't prefer total nuclear planetary annihilation to military defeat. "We're taking it all with us when we go" has been the underlying premise of US policy on climate, economy, and geopolitics for my entire life. The US is not going to discover restraint after they've started firing nukes.
I figure that at least some of the U.S. government/bourgeoisie would surrender, at least enough to spare their own lives, and they will need to be hunted down and rooted out over time to prevent their resurgence among the levers of power.
I'm not saying the U.S. will discover restraint, especially after firing nukes. I'm just stating that at least some of the Amerikkkan imperialists must have a degree of self-preservation to not want to risk the entire globe when they could scatter away and fight later.
The U.S. Empire is fascist and short-term thinking, but it's not completely stupid, it's evil usually makes some kind of twisted sense. It's better to plan for the worst and hope for the best, but I believe overestimating your enemy is almost as bad as underestimating.
I figure that at least some of the U.S. government/bourgeoisie would surrender, at least enough to spare their own lives
Amerikkkan imperialists must have a degree of self-preservation to not want to risk the entire globe when they could scatter away and fight later
There's no excuse for this level of wishful thinking about global nuclear war. The United States is not going to launch a limited nuclear strike against another nuclear power and then surrender in the hopes that its leadership will be left alive. Nobody on earth would accept a surrender that left those people alive after a nuclear first strike. If the US launches on another nuclear power, the US only survives by completely obliterating every other non-occupied nuclear power before they have a chance to respond. If the US does a nuclear first strike without completely disabling any potential response, every other non-occupied nuclear power in the world would be obligated to immediately unload everything they have on the US. To do anything less would leave a country with no credible deterrent to US attack, and the US would be obligated to exploit that vulnerability to eliminate the threat to its hegemony. A nuclear exchange will either end in the total destruction of the United States, or total US world domination. Either option means uncountable dead and complete global economic and environmental collapse no matter who rules the wasteland. For average people that amounts to quick death or slow death. An improvement in anybody's current living conditions would not be in the cards.
The personal sense of self-preservation in individual members of the national bourgeoisie or congressional middle men doesn't matter at all if one senile dipshit with one foot in the grave pushes the button. It doesn't even matter what a majority of the US ruling class thinks if a few true believers in the right positions with enough hubris and self-delusion decide to gamble that the benefits of winning outweigh the likelihood of retaliation. It's all or nothing once the first nuke flies. There can be no reconsideration or negotiation after that threshold is crossed. It's either live by killing the enemy completely, or die taking them with you.
I don't know what about the history of the United States government would lead you to believe that they wouldn't prefer total nuclear planetary annihilation to military defeat. "We're taking it all with us when we go" has been the underlying premise of US policy on climate, economy, and geopolitics for my entire life. The US is not going to discover restraint after they've started firing nukes.
I figure that at least some of the U.S. government/bourgeoisie would surrender, at least enough to spare their own lives, and they will need to be hunted down and rooted out over time to prevent their resurgence among the levers of power.
I'm not saying the U.S. will discover restraint, especially after firing nukes. I'm just stating that at least some of the Amerikkkan imperialists must have a degree of self-preservation to not want to risk the entire globe when they could scatter away and fight later.
The U.S. Empire is fascist and short-term thinking, but it's not completely stupid, it's evil usually makes some kind of twisted sense. It's better to plan for the worst and hope for the best, but I believe overestimating your enemy is almost as bad as underestimating.
There's no excuse for this level of wishful thinking about global nuclear war. The United States is not going to launch a limited nuclear strike against another nuclear power and then surrender in the hopes that its leadership will be left alive. Nobody on earth would accept a surrender that left those people alive after a nuclear first strike. If the US launches on another nuclear power, the US only survives by completely obliterating every other non-occupied nuclear power before they have a chance to respond. If the US does a nuclear first strike without completely disabling any potential response, every other non-occupied nuclear power in the world would be obligated to immediately unload everything they have on the US. To do anything less would leave a country with no credible deterrent to US attack, and the US would be obligated to exploit that vulnerability to eliminate the threat to its hegemony. A nuclear exchange will either end in the total destruction of the United States, or total US world domination. Either option means uncountable dead and complete global economic and environmental collapse no matter who rules the wasteland. For average people that amounts to quick death or slow death. An improvement in anybody's current living conditions would not be in the cards.
The personal sense of self-preservation in individual members of the national bourgeoisie or congressional middle men doesn't matter at all if one senile dipshit with one foot in the grave pushes the button. It doesn't even matter what a majority of the US ruling class thinks if a few true believers in the right positions with enough hubris and self-delusion decide to gamble that the benefits of winning outweigh the likelihood of retaliation. It's all or nothing once the first nuke flies. There can be no reconsideration or negotiation after that threshold is crossed. It's either live by killing the enemy completely, or die taking them with you.