1326 



No nation has been more extensively altered technologically in cul- 

 ture 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, communications networks, and 

 computer services; and 



— Consumption of fossil fuels and industrial materials. 

 By these means also, the United States has increased the dependence 

 on supplies of industrial and energ}'^ materials froni foreign sources, 

 while other nations have increased their dependence on the United 

 States in the need for food, educational facilities, technical assistance, 

 and economic stabilit}^ As a consequence of technology, the United 

 States has led the world in bringing about a global structure of inter- 

 national interdependence. The multinational corporation is a com- 

 mercial manifestation of this development; and the worldwide accept- 

 ance of the products of U.S. science and invention is a technical mani- 

 festation of the same. 



In his nationally televised "State of the World" address before a 

 joint session of Congress on April 10, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford 

 identified technology as presenting "a vast new agenda of issues in an 

 interdependent world." He called on technology to close the food- 

 population gap, urged cooperation among nations in developing the 

 world's ocean resources, spoke of the need to create new world institu- 

 tions and practices in trade, finance, and raw materials, and declared 

 that among the areas for U.S. leadership was the harnessing of tech- 

 nology to the service of mankind while protecting the environment. 

 It is "our goal in this new era," he said, to reconcile the "interests 

 and the aspirations of the developed and developing nations ... in 

 a manner that is both realistic and humane." 



Goals of Technological Diplomacy 



The conduct of diplomacy involves a balancing of competition and 

 cooperation, of competing national aspirations and shared international 

 concerns. To the extent that the balance tilts toward international 

 cooperation the prospect is one of peace; a tilt in the other direction 

 leads to the prospect of tension and conflict. This is, of course, an 

 oversimplification; competition in trade, athletics, and scientific 

 achievement implies an extensive degree of cooperation among com- 

 petitoi's. One aim of diplomacy would seem to be to confine competition 

 to these kinds of competitive-cooperative endeav^or, while resolving 

 diplomatically the issues arising out of such competition. 



In calibrating kinds of human endeavor as to their relative propen- 

 sity for generating conflict, a distinction can be made between science 

 and technology. Science, the pursuit of knowledge, is almost inherently 

 international. Technology, on the other hand, is more closely bound to 

 national power and interest. In the words of a prominent technologist : 



World leadership and technological leadership are inseparable. A third-rate tech- 

 nological nation is a third-rate power, politicallj^ economically, and socially. . . . 

 If we lose our national resolve to keep our position on the pinnacle of technology, 

 the historical role of the United States can only go downhill.^ 



2 U.S. Conaress, Senate, Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Hearings to inquire into the 

 state of the aerospace industry, its importance in achieving the goals set forth in the National Aeronautics 

 and Space Act of 1958, and the relevance cf those goals to our nation's future, 93d Cong., 1st .^ess., Sep*- 

 tember 26 and 27. 1973, pp. 202-203. Statement by Dr. Wernher von Braun, vice-president, engineering and 

 development, Fairchild Industries, Inc. 



