As the destructive capabilities of nuclear weapons escalated, it became incredibly clear that world powers were on the fast track to catastrophe. The Castle Bravo event and Tsar Bomba explosion scared everyone…even politicians and world leaders. Complete destruction of the world by human hands suddenly became a very real possibility.

The PTBT was created not just to ban nuclear testing and hamper the development of atomic weapons, it was also created as a safeguard for the future. The treaty doesn't dance around or act coy about its purpose, either.

Consider the following:

Proclaiming as their principal aim the speediest possible achievement of an agreement on general and complete disarmament under strict international control in accordance with the objectives of the United Nations which would put an end to the armaments race and eliminate the incentive to the production and testing of all kinds of weapons, including nuclear weapons [...]. (2)

Sure, out of context it sounds a little choppy, but this line is all about good intentions for creating a better future. It's a condition that is further supported by the very explicit statement that "[t]his Treaty shall be of unlimited duration." (27)

In other words: the PTBT won't go bad.

Both of these statements illustrate that the U.S., the U.K., and the USSR—all nuclear superpowers—are working toward an international agreement that would eliminate the use of all weapons. The final goal of this kind of intention is basically a world in which military aggression is unnecessary. It's an idyllic vision of the future still in progress so many decades later.