1141 



ARCHAIC TRADITIONS AS OBSTACLE TO PROGRESS 



Traditions and customs often rigidify the social structures of tra- 

 ditional societies, perpetuating inherited class barriers, reinforcing 

 the inequities of social and economic discrimination, and infusing the 

 social order with mediocrity, bureaucratism, and nepotism. Educa- 

 tional institutions, as noted above, suffer from this disability. But 

 what is more important, this spirit can permeate the whole of society. 



Inherited social status, family position, and political connections, 

 rather than individual talent and capability, and the importance of 

 particular jobs for the task of nation-building, become the criteria for 

 holding professional positions, structuring salary scales, and creat- 

 ing social status and prestige. Such a dislocation of talent, rewards, 

 and status in society effectively excludes the talented young intellec- 

 tual from playing a proper and positive role in his society. In the 

 case of India, V. M. Dandekar, Director of the Gokhale Institute of 

 Politics and Economics, Poona, India, observed that this was a 

 "disease" underlying the entire brain drain phenomenon. As a result, 

 the intellectual classes of India are alienated totally from the rest of 

 society and anything but an intellectual life has developed within the 

 ranks of the intellectuals. And he concludes with this severe judg- 

 ment: "These ranks have been infiltrated by wrong persons with 

 wrong aptitudes and wrong motivations, and bureaucracy, servility, 

 frustration, and resentment permeate the intellectual life in the coun- 

 try. These conditions keep the young talented persons away from their 

 home." "2 



SOCIAL AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION 



One of the most serious social aspects of traditional societies that 

 contributes to the "push" factor is discrimination. (Many LDCs fall 

 into the "traditional" category.) Eigidly established class and racial 

 barriers bar the gifted professionals from positions commensurate 

 with their talent. The Chinese in Malaya, the Asians in Kenya, and the 

 Tamils in Ceylon are adversely affected by discriminatory attitudes 

 and legislation.-^^ Qualified native Cameroonians are often denied 

 jobs that go to employees of foreign organizations, thus closing off 

 career prospects for native professional cadres and forcing them to 

 go elsewhere.2** Speaking of discrimination in Africa, K. K. A. 

 Gardiner, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Com- 

 mission for Africa, applied to Nigeria a principle that has universal 

 relevance: "Given the general scarcity of nation-building talent, a 

 country like Nigeria cannot indulge in the luxury of differentiating 

 between Ibos, Hausas, and Yorubas in the selection of advancement 

 of personnel." -*^ 



Dr. William C. Johnstone of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced 

 International Studies recounts the experience of 2i/^ years in Burma 

 in setting up an international relations program at the University of 



^2 V. M. Dandekar, "India," In Adams, Brain Drain, pp. 228-229. Dr. Adams discusses 

 the social aspects of brain drain in, Hearings, House Government Operations Committee, 

 Brain Drain, 1968, pp. 55-56. See also, CIMT stud.v. pp. 710-712. 



2^^ Report Ditchley Park Conference on Brain Drain, 1968. p. 15. 



2" UNITAR, Braiti Drain from Five LDCs. 1971, p. 122. 



2« Adams and Dirlam, op. cit, p. 260. Advertisements of job opportunities placed in The 

 Nev York Times during April 1974 by the Nigerian delegation currently attempting to 

 retrieve lost professional talent carries the statement familiar to Americans but also par- 

 ticularly relevant to Nigerians, "An Equal Opportunity Employer." 



