1839 



— Global weather prediction; 



— Cheap synthetic substitutes for many cash crops; 



— Chemicals and drugs with global social and environmental impacts; and 



— Massive and rapid air transportation. 



No nation, it is pointed out, has been subject to more extensive 

 technological alterations in its culture or economics than has the 

 United States, as measured by: 



— The substitution of machine power for manual power in homes and work 

 places; 



— The move from field, forest, and mine to offices and service occupations; 



— Personal transportation, commimications networks, and computer 

 services; and 



— Consumption of fossil fuels and industrial materials. 



As a result of these technological developments, the United States 

 has increased its dependence on foreign sources of energy, materials, 

 and industrial products, while other nations have increased their 

 dependence on the United States for food, educational faciUties, 

 technical assistance, and economic stability. "As a consequence of 

 technology, the United States has led the world in bringing about a 

 global structure of international interdependence." *** 



A major theme of the study is that despite this leading role the 

 United States is not well organized to cope with interdependence.*** 

 Traditional habits of thought and action persist in organizational 

 structures and procedures which tend to emphasize bilateral over 

 multilateral relationships and one-dimensionaf approaches to inter- 

 national problems over multidimensional. 



Paralleling the growing interdependence among peoples, the study 

 emphasizes, is the growmg interconnectedness of different kinds of 

 diplomatic problems: 



A feature of the world scene of today is the complex way in which so many of 

 the great global problems intersect. Materials shortages raise questions of political 

 jurisdiction over the deep seabed. World food shortages relate to fertilizer supply, 

 which is tied to energy and petroleum, materials carteUzation, weather modlnca- 

 tion, and water supply. Energy relates to petroleimi and world distribution of coal, 

 but also to nuclear power generation, which involves international technology 

 transfer, the environment, nuclear safeguards, and safe disposal of nuclear wastes. 

 Space utilization involves searches for materials, global commimications, detection 

 of agricultural blights, and information management. In fact, directly or indirectly, 

 mo3t of the large teclmological issues facing the world of the future in 1975 appear 

 to be closely interconnected. . . . 



The implication of this demonstrated interconnectedness among international 

 technological issues is that organizations cannot operate effectively if they are 

 limited in scope to a particular function or issue. Coordination is essential to 

 ensure that each mission organization, national or international, does not operate 

 at cross-purposes with other organizations with other related missions, in the 

 United States this coordinating function on international technological issues 

 and functions is the responsibility of the Department of State. There does not 

 appear to be any clearcut assignment of corresponding responsibility for co- 

 oroinating international mission agency functions. Moreover, there does not 

 appear to be any extensive discussion of the need for such international agency 

 coordination. And, indeed, the extent to which the U.S. Department of State is 

 organized, equipped, and manned to coordinate U.S. aspecte of these functions 

 and issues is open to serious question.*^* 



** Others, of coune, have made this point, and some have explored the question of what might be done 

 about It An example of an onofficlal Irqulry by the "National Commission on Coping with Interdepend- 

 ence" is footnoted earlier In this essay. Two recent official examples are the study by Bloomfleld etH.tat 

 the State Department and the Murphy Commission study, both also mentioned earlier. Chapter 10 of the 

 Report of the Murphy Commission suggests organlzatlonaJ concepts and procedures necessary for "Bbi4>lng 

 an international order or nmnaging intordependence. . . ." The substance of this chapter b discoased n 

 length in the essay to follow, on "Short- Range versus Long- Range Planning." 



«26 Huddle, Science and Technology in the Department of State, vol. II, pp. 1473-1474. 



