1312 



DEVELOPMENT GAP, BRAIN DRAIN AND INTERDEPENDENCE: INTERACTING 

 FORCES WITHIN A NATIONAL, MOOD OF WITHDRAWAL 



Eight years later the development gap has in fact widened; and 

 brain drain, though now a foreign policy of low visibility, constitutes 

 an even greater threat to the educated elite of the LDCs and accord- 

 ingly to progress towards their development. Added to these factors 

 are the indifference and apathy v.'hich characterize the Nation's 

 response to development problems that specialists insist can be man- 

 aged only within the framework of an actively pursued policy of 

 interdependence. 



As Secretary Kissinger told the special session of the United Nations 

 General Assembly meeting in April 1974 on problems of raw materials 

 and development, "We in this Assembly must come to grips with the 

 fact of our interdependence. . . . economics, technology, and the sweep 

 of human values impose a recognition of our interdependence and of 

 the necessity of our collaboration." ^" 



But the prevailing national mood of withdrawal from what many 

 students of American foreign policy have perceived to be excessive 

 global commitments is incompatible with the requirements of a vigor- 

 ously pursued policy of interdependence.^^s To a great extent this 



«2a Kissinger, "Challenges of Interdependence," p. 2. 



«»The direction of U.S. foreign policy at least in the immediate future will be deter- 

 mined largely by the attitudes of the American people. Surveys of American public opinion 

 made in the winter and spring of 1974 reinforce the belief that their attitudes are changing 

 increasingly from internationalist to Isolationist. It is said that isolationism in this country 

 has more than doubled in the last two years and that during the same period interna- 

 tionalist views among Americans have dropped 15 percent to a post-1945 low. "There has 

 been a pronounced tendency to turn Inward, the survey said, because of what was termed 

 the "shattering" effect of the American experience in Vietnam on beliefs in "U.S. pre- 

 dominance in power" and, more important, because of preoccupation with increasing 

 domestic problems. 



The surveys were planned, financed, and analyzed by Potomac Associates, Inc., and 

 the polling was done by the Gallup organization. One of the survcs relates to testing 

 internationalist attitudes, the other to testing "hopes and fears" of Americans. The inter- 

 nationalist survey was to be published in June 1974 in a book entitled, "A Nation Observed : 

 Perspectives on America's World Role," edited by Donald R. Lesh ; the other survey was to 

 be published in the fall as the second in a series of books called, "State of the Nation," 

 edited by William Watts and Lloyd A. Free. 



The poll on international views revealed that "total isolationists" increased from 9 

 percent of a sample polled in 1972 to 21 percent interviewed in 1974. "Total interna- 

 tionalists" declined from 56 percent in 1972 to 41 percent in 1974. An essay based on the 

 international poll revealed among other things that 42 percent of Americans, against 43 

 percent who disagree, feel that it is no longer important for the United States to be No. 1, 

 that is, "the world's most powerful nation." Most Americans see U.S. power declining as 

 other nations Improve their power positions ; most said they would be satisfied with 

 "essential equivalence" with the Soviet Union. More than half of those surveyed (excluding 

 those expressing no opinion) believed that too much was being spent on defense; 15 per- 

 cent advocated an increase in military expenditures. And a majority of Americans would 

 disapprove of the United States going to the defense of Japan ; only 48 percent would 

 approve the use of military force to help Western Europe. 



A chart of internationalist-Isolationist trends showed a steady decline in Internationalist 

 feelings — 65 percent in 1964, 59 percent in 1968, 56 percent in 1972, and then the sharp 

 drop to 41 percent in 1974. On the other hand, isolationism held constant from 8 percent 

 in 1964 to 9 percent in 1968 and again 9 percent in 1972 before rising to 21 percent in 

 1974. 



The last question in the survey was presented as a proposition : "We shouldn t think 

 so much in international terms but concentrate more on our own national problems and 

 building up our strength and prosperity here at home." The survey showed that 77 per- 

 cent agreed with this statement, as against 14 percent who disagreed, and 9 percent who 

 offered no opinion. The 77 percent in agreement contrasted with 55 percent in 1964, 60 

 percent in 1968, and 7.3 percent in 1972. 



This growing isolationist spirit was reflected throughout the entire population but was 

 most advanced in rural areas and small communities, the Midwest and West, and among 

 the voung. A striking decline in internationalism occurred among people under 30 years of 

 age^71 percent in 1964 to 42 percent in 1974, a decrease of 29 percent. Mr. Free, a polling 

 specialist and editor of one of the books to be published, concludes his analysis of findings 

 with this warning : "The only prediction that I feel can be made with some confidence is 

 that the greatest complications in international relations over the next decade are likely 

 to stem from violations of expectations ; of what our allies, friends, competitors, and former 

 adversaries expect of the United States, and what Americans expect of themselves and the 

 world as a whole." (Leslie H. Gelb, "Polls Find U.S. Isolationism on Rise, Hope at Ebb, 

 The New York Times, June 16, 1974, p. 3.) 



