1830 



The study is concerned throughout with the uses of technology to 

 advance the national interest. As it progresses, however, the theme of 

 interdependence commands increasing attention, both implicitly and 

 explicitly. Nuclear weapons and atomic power, it is pointed out, have 

 profoundly influenced the international scene in many subtle and 

 unexpected ways. They have created the need for a deeper mutual 

 security, opportunities for large multipurpose projects to open desert 

 regions of the world to habitation, and a host of international agencies 

 and activities to control and exploit this still new product of science. 

 Space exploration has led to a similar need for closer understanding 

 and cooperation among nations, as well as conferring prestige and 

 power upon the leaders in this technology. The securing of various 

 new benefits by all nations from space technology requires cooperative 

 agreement and joint action. "Planet Earth has been shown visibly 

 and coherently as a single unit whose artificial divisions by mankind 

 can be ignored in the global study of weather, resources of land and 

 ocean, and even the superficial changes brought about by industry, 

 agriculture, and human settlement." "^ 



Programs in technical assistance, international activities in edu- 

 cation and health, exchange of technical information about transporta- 

 tion, communications, and power, all provide a basis for closer relations 

 among governments and individuals. Even primarily domestic tech- 

 nological programs are found to have significant international aspects. 

 Some aspects of domestic infrastructure are themselves taking on an 

 international character, such as air transportation and satellite 

 communications. ''These can serve both to help and hinder the work 

 of the diplomat: While information can now be transmitted virtually 

 instantaneously, to facilitate long-range bargaining, the time available 

 for decisionmaking has decreased. The traditional conduct of secret, 

 official diplomacy tends to be nullified by radio and television propa- 

 ganda and by educational, cultural, and scientific exchanges. Swift 

 transit of trouble-shooting negotiators to points of tension by air 

 transport or for consultation with national leaders is counteracted by 

 the ability of trouble-makers and dissident groups to use these same 

 means of travel." *" 



Although particular technologies are not international in the rela- 

 tively uninhibited and nonpolitical way that scientific developments 

 are international, and although in the short run they may often play 

 the role of powerful servant of nationalism, in the longer run they 

 tend to affect all nations: 



Examination of the history of a number of fields of technology has demonstrated 

 the tendency for technology to cross national boundaries, to generate problems 

 involving many nations, to offer opportunities for general global benefit, and to 

 effect profound changes in the world scene for better or worse. Perhaps the most 

 significant fact about technology is this force for interdependence among nations. 



The philosopher, Kant, proposed the "Categorical Imperative," an ethical 

 principle to govern human behavior. It postulated that man should "Act as if 

 the maxim from which you act were to become through your will a universal 

 law." In other words, one should inquire of his actions as to what the effect would 

 be if everybody did them. Perhaps the same principle warrants examination as 

 applied to nations. Are there some general principles governing the development, 

 application, and sharing of technology that should be incorporated in a Tech- 

 nology Treaty? "** 



<«« Ibid., p. 651. 



<« Ibid., pp. 651-652. 



"9 Ibid., p. 678. 



