1185 



cal intellectuals — are also part of this same societal infrastructure/-* 

 And while in many areas of the LDCs they constitute a large part of 

 the trained manpower surplus, still their emigration represents the 

 social loss of a potential if not real leadership elite. As Dr. Kidd ex- 

 plained in his commentary on the long range value of an educated 

 elite to development : 



Developing countries need not only specific skills but also leadership and orga- 

 nizing ability. A continuing drain of highly trained people can over the long run 

 add to a sense of national frustration, generate a contagious movement, lower 

 the sense of w^orth of those who remain [that is, the "left-behind" syndrome], 

 reduce further the small group of potential political and administrative leaders, 

 and reduce the cadre of technically trained people who must be at hand when 

 the process of development gathers momentum.*^ 



And as Dr. Sprague acknowledged in commenting on the practice of 

 recruiting FMGs to close the deficit created by the doctor shortage : 



In a sense this is a brain drain in that we are actively recruiting some of the 

 best educated and among the most talented group of people the foreign country 



"* The value of the educated man In the LDCs was underscored by Dr. William C. Thiesen- 

 husen of the University of Wisconsin. He wrote : "Immediately upon becoming literate, a 

 person In a less developed country takes on value as a productive resource. He has been 

 the recipient of Investment and is able to understand and respond to more economical 

 forms of communication than the spoken word. The Population Reference Bureau reports 

 that the literate man is even scarcer than previously assumed. A global total of 924 

 million — equal to about 42 percent of the world's population over 15 years — is illiterate. 

 As population burgeons, the numbers of people who can read and write are increasing. But 

 the number of the world's illiterates has grown also — by 40 million between 1950 and 1960. 

 A recent forecaster has claimed that by 1972 the number of adult illiterates in this hemi- 

 sphere will be 20 million more than when the Alliance for Progress began. Thus the 

 Malthusian phenomenon can appropriately be restated to read : Population tends to outrun 

 society's ability to educate it." (Hearings, House Government Operations Committee, Brain 

 Drain, 1968. p. 27). 



The CIMT study summed up the value of the educated person to development In these 

 words : "Persons with highly developed talent have several Indispensable roles to play in 

 the development process : (1) they constitute the intellectual bridge to the developed world, 

 that is, they assess and adapt relevant Ideas and technologies originating elsewhere ; (2) 

 they develop, maintain, and manage the productive processes, the resources, and the com- 

 plex structures of modern society ; (3) as the Intellectual elite, they bring about the struc- 

 tural and institutional changes necessary If a nation is to become a modern state ; and (4) 

 their Irreplaceable efforts, and the standards they set, heavily influence the educational 

 and other institutions that shape future generations of educated persons." (CIMT study, 

 pp. 689-690.) 



Some students of brain drain tend to downgrade the value of the liberal arts education 

 to development and thus are Inclined to write oflf those immigrating students of the liberal 

 arts and humanities as not being a serious loss in natlon-bulldlng. President Theodore D. 

 Lockwood of Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., expresses a point of view on the liberal 

 arts education and its value to society. He wrote : "... I would not argue that the 

 function of a liberal arts institution Is the training of leaders, though I would hold that 

 it remains an important by-product of our enterprise. Nor would I Insist that we are 

 preparing professionals and corporate managerial personnel ; but again, many liberal arts 

 graduates do choose those careers. Certainly we cannot guarantee employment for gradu- 

 ates of liberal arts institutions, though we do provide assistance In that respect. 



"The ralson d'etre of a liberal arts education Is not that It is relevant to any specific 

 career, but to life In general In a rapldl.v-changlng, confusing, and sometimes frightening 

 world. It Is our task to teach Individuals to better understand that world so that they 

 may make Intelligent judgments about themselves, their society, and the international 

 community In which they must live. 



"Life In the late twentieth century promises to present challenges of unprecedented 

 proportions. 



"It is not enough just to survive In such a tumultuous world. Survival alone is worth- 

 less if, in the process, we lose the knowledge and creativity that have characterized the 

 human species. We must preserve and cultivate the capacity for 'critical thinking' . . . 

 In an environment that often boggles the mind. 



"One must know how to recognize problems, where to find the necessary resources to 

 solve them, and how to make judgments that Incorporate both practicality and morality. 

 One must know more than how to cope with life ; he must be prepared to live his life 

 fully. Intelligently, and artivelv. These are the capacities we seek to foster in a liberal 

 arts education." Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., Trinity Reporter 3 (December 1972), 

 p. 4. 



*2= Hearings, House Government Operations Committee, Brain Drain, 1968, p. 48. 



