Durkheim this state of affairs was the result of the Industrial Revolution, which
broke down the traditional pattern of existence that bound men together
closely through deeply accepted cultural norms (seecorporatism). The
concept can be used to explain unrest and dissatisfaction in any sort of social
system, though it is often used either loosely or even tautologously (for
example, to mean no more than a state of lawlessness, despite the fact that
the term is actually intended to explain the lawlessness). One may question the
validity of Durkheim’s contrast between anomic industrial societies and tradi-
tional societies where the malady is absent because all know and accept their
role; but the concept of anomie itself, if used with care, can be illuminating.
Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty
As part of theSALTI process the USA and the Soviet Union negotiated an
agreement severely restricting their entitlement to deploy missile systems
intended to defend either centres of population or their ownICBMsites by
shooting down incoming strategic missiles. This, the Anti-Ballistic Missile
Treaty, also restricted the provision of radar systems intended for use with such
defensive screens, and limited the testing of new forms of defence against
ballistic missiles. The treaty was relatively easy to negotiate because, though
both sides had begun to build and deploy such systems, it was widely agreed
that any effective defence system against ballistic missiles would certainly be
fantastically expensive to develop, and would be of very dubious reliability even
if built. It was a classic example of an arms control agreement forbidding
something no one really wanted, but which, if one side went ahead and tried to
build it, the other would be forced to follow suit. The ABM Treaty was not
only adhered to, but neither side even deployed all that they were allowed to.
This situation, however, broke down when the US President Ronald Reagan
decided to invest in the hugely expensive, and technologically nearly impos-
sible, Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI, popularly known as Star Wars (see also
Son of Star Wars). It seems, with hindsight, that his decision perhaps had
more to do with putting strain on the Soviet economy, even less able to bear
the costs of such a scheme, and with forcing the Soviet Union into a
negotiating position on reduction of strategic weapons, than with a serious
intent to build what many experts thought impossible. The ABM Treaty was,
at least, strained by the research into the SDI. Actually to deploy Star Wars
weapons would certainly have been a major breach of the agreement, but it was
widely interpreted that even testing the components was outlawed.
After the end of the cold war public attention drifted away from ballistic
missile defence. Funding was reduced during the Clinton administrations
Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty