846 



SH RnJricy W Suh:4s 



ottcn related m scieiue and leeliiiulot;y. Tlie polilical leadership amoni; the LDCs 

 lielieved thai LINCSTI) should loeus on international inequities and on the "fail- 

 ures" ot the past two decatles in development assistance They aimed to extract 

 agreements pleiluim; more aid, with a view to ultimately eliminating their 

 ■■teclun)louiLal de|vndency " ITie diplomatic climate was hot as Nt)rth South nego- 

 tiations deteriorated and stalled in 1974 75. 



Despite these diverse strains, a tentative consensus emerged in 1976 on three 

 views ot the value ot the Conference. First, governments sensed that such a meeting 

 could hecome a usetully disciplining goad to their own pt)licymakers and to inter- 

 national otticials; 1 979 was then tar enough away to provide a cxuiling off period and 

 to serve later as a deadline. Next, the nongovernmental prolessional communities 

 sensed that the UN torum could become the catalyst for increasing popular 

 awareness ot many global issues that have been both fuzzy and urgent. Finally, 

 radicals and moderates came to share the idea that UNCSTD could try to integrate, 

 clarify, and extend the connectic»ns among the issues confronted at the major UN 

 conferences held during the 197()s, such as those on environment, population, food, 

 habitat, and water. 



How well were these three perspectives being pursued by late 1978? Unfortun- 

 ately, it became easy to be skeptical aUiut the quality and impact ot preparations for 

 UNCbTD. Much of the work so tar has been shallow and fragmented. Many 

 communications have appeared to be unclear, even obscure Serious analysis has 

 been scarce, and new approaches even scarcer. 



In fairness, there are few new ideas that persuasively show how to accomodate all 

 the complex dimensions of science and technology in the development process. So, at 

 the start, the preparations were severely hobbled conceptually. And there also were 

 delects in the initial plans tor helping countries prepare tor UNCSTD. 



Nonethele.ss, the national and international "aid" institutions— despite their 

 confident rhetoric in headquarters, their occasional floundering in the field, and their 

 heavy bureaucratic appearance— probably are serious about looking for new 

 directions in adapting more etfectively their mechanisms for applying the modern 

 sciences and technologies to developmental goals. 



More important, new segments ot the private scientific community in the indus- 

 trialized countries are showing signs ot more lively interest in the "Third World," 

 and a few governments are bringing fresh efforts to their work on development. 



Thus it would not be wise to write off the UNCSTD. Indeed, as the old saying 

 reminds us. "For want of a nail the shoe is lost, for want of a shoe the horse is lost, 

 tor want ot a horse the rider is lost." Is UNCSTD a nail in the shoe of international 

 cooperation.^ Is technology a horse for the international community to ride.'' 



After this quick reconnaissance, let us now review more tully the many strands of 

 preparations tor the Conlerence. 



Capsule History 



Describing the history ot UNCSTD is a good deal easier than evaluating the quality 

 ot preparatory work to date. Millions ot words have already been written and spoken. 

 No one has read and heard them all. much less had the time to try to discover any 

 cogent thoughts that may be bobbing in the oceans of cliches. 



