Nuclear weapons, with their capacity to annihilate entire cities and ravage surrounding populations with disease, are regarded by many as inherently dangerous, even evil. According to former nuclear weapons designer Theodore B. Taylor, the possession of nuclear weapons consists of a “preparation for mass murder that cannot be justified under any conditions.” Taylor is among those who believe that nuclear weapons are a serious threat to global security and should therefore be completely eliminated. In a joint statement on nuclear weapons, over 50 international generals and admirals assert that “the continuing existence of nuclear weapons in the armories of nuclear powers ... constitute[s] a peril to global peace and security and to the safety and survival of the people we are dedicated to protect.”

However, not everyone sees the abolition of nuclear weapons as...