One of the inventions of gravest consequences in the 20th century was without doubt, nuclear weapons. Notwithstanding the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970, they have spread to India (1974), Pakistan (1998) and North Korea. For this reason, war is no longer a realistic means of settling international disputes. Accordingly, there are no hot wars in East Asia since the end of the Vietnam War(1975), settlement of the Cambodian problem(1989), dismantling of the Soviet Union(1991), and acquisition of nuclear weapons by Pakistan(1998). Thus, the 20th century should be the last century to wallow in wars and armed conflict; they should no longer be permitted in the 21st century. This paper was originally written in 2016, before the onset of trade war between US and China, and way before the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza, and thus reflects the optimistic mood prevalent in those times, brutally overturned during and after the Corona pandemic.