1256 



tudes, and traditions and in developing a national commitment to sci- 

 ence and technology. Through scientific and technological institutions,, 

 the needed manpower is trained for running the machinery and orga- 

 nizing the productive resources of a modern industrial society. Science 

 and technology enable a nation to utilize its material resources in cre- 

 ating the goods and services to meet the demands of a new era. Finally, 

 the application of human intelligence to material resources through 

 which economic and social progress can be achieved is made possible 

 by science and technology. Homi Bhabha, director of Bombay's Tata 

 Institute and the -'most dynamic figure" in Indian science, stressed, 

 perhaps overstressed the relationship between science and technology 

 and development as seen from the LDC's perspective when he said : 



What the developed countries have and the underdeveloped lack is modern 

 science and an economy based on modern technology. The problem of developing 

 the underdeveloi>ed countries is therefore the problem of establishing modern 

 science in them and transforming their economy to one based on modern science 

 and technology.*"' 



The task of creating a scientific-technological infrastructure in the 

 LDCs is difficult. Yet it is one in which the (American) National Acad- 

 emy of Sciences, in cooperation with the U.S. Agency for Interna- 

 tional Development and indigenous scientific communities, has taken 

 an active and vigorous interest since the late 1950's. Kequirements vaiy 

 among the LDCs which have emerged at differing stages of national 

 development and have moved at an uneven pace towards modernity. 



8 " E R Piore "Science In the Post-Industrial Era," Science in Human Affairs, Pro 

 ceedings of the Academy of Political Science, Columbia University. New York 38 (April 



^^Sources tii brain drain abound In statements of this nature. One that is rarticularly 

 comprehensive was made by Ward Morehouse, Director of the Center for Ipternational 

 Pro-ra^s and Comnarative Studies of the State Education Department, University of t!ie 

 State of New York. Professor Morehouse began an article on the role of science ana 

 technoloKV in development with the«e comments : 



"VVe cannot avoid t^e realization," C. P. Snow once observed "thrit applied science 

 has made it possible to remove unnecessary suffering from a billion individual lives— 

 to "remove suffering of a kind, which In our own privileged society, we have largely 

 forgotten . . It does not require one additional scientific discovery, though new 

 scientific discoveries must help us. It depends on the spread of the scienttjic revolution 

 all over the toorld. There is no other way." ' , ^ . ^ . .,„„i„„„ 



If C P Snow is right, the potential importance of modern science and technology 

 in t'^e develonmcnt process can hardlv he overstated. No less a commanding figure In 

 modern history than the late Jawaharlal Nehru of India, concerned as he was with 

 guiding the destinier, of one of the major less developed socleiies in the contemporary 

 world once observed about India : "I do not see any way out of our vicious circle 

 of poverty except by utilizing the new sources of power science has placed at our 



^ M^'^'^Nehru was not alone among political leaders of the less developed countries 



of "the world in recoL'nizing t'-:e enormous potentia' of modern science and technology 



in achievement of their economic and social goals. Virtually every political leader 



of a developing countrv at one time or another has made similar pronouncements. 



The propo-itlon thn niodern science and technology constitute a potential salvntion 



for less developed societies is reflected in the allocation of resources for development 



throughout .A.'^ia Africa and Latin America where national develo-Mnent plans Include 



the promotion of science and technology in a variety of forms. While t ere may be 



';ome who will argue that the resources allocated for this area of activity of such 



high potential are too limited, the fact remains that science .and technology are 



f-on-^ide-ed to be Integral pirts of almost all national development programs. 



(Ward Morehouse, "The Role of Science and Technology In Development : A Terra 



Incoenita of Public Policy," Infcrnational Development Rciieio 1 (19/0), p. 1!).) 



^''''^^^lll^^W^^.X or 'ncrer^sed nwarere., ar^on-r LnCs of the need for mo.iernlzin'T 



through technology is that of Saudi Arabia. Sheikh Ahmed Yamani, Saudi Arabia s oil 



Minister and chief" negotiator for fie Arabs in the 1973-74 oil crisis, has profosseri goals 



of modernizing his country through industrialization. In its drive for modernization. 



'I'l'idl Arabia has engnced manv American scientists and engineers to help inilld nie 



infrastructure of technology. For decades Saudi Arabian technological students, Including 



Yamani were trained in American universities. Saudi Arabia's long-ranse goals were made 



ve'^v clea" br Yamani when he was recentlv asked how the West, politics aside, could get 



Sa"'/'M Arabia to snnplv world oil demand. Yam.ani answered : "That is very slmnle. Tn-lus- 



tvializp Saudi Arabia. 'Then we will give you as much oil as you need." ( '.\rabs Outline 



Several Methods How West Can Resupply Oil," The Christian Sctence Momtor, Dec. 11, 



1 0T "^ — O ^ 



" On b'aTance it ought to be pointed out that science and technology are critical elements 

 in development but not necessarily the only ones. Development Is considerably more com- 

 plex than these statements would imply. 



