860 



102 R«ihicv W Nic/inh 



One bitter issue in this context is that inuhin.itinnal corporations may be criticized 

 generally at Vienna by some of the more advanced LDCs who themselves are 

 spawning many successful new multinational enterprises." Yet the LINCSTD may 

 debate this and other technologically related economic issues as if the 1980s were 

 the J 950s. Instead of moving toward realistic accomodations by and for private 

 enterprise, some delegations will assume that there is plentiful evidence about better 

 strategies for deploying technology efficiently.-'' 



So far, three problems have been noted that will darken, if not paralyz.e, th( 

 prospects for practical agreements at UNCSTI). In recapitulation: first, we don't 

 really know how much internationally pertinent R&D is going on. We think it isn't 

 enough — and that's probably right. But facts are scarce because in DCs this subject 

 is an orphan, in I. DCs the technical effort is small and diffuse, and in every country 

 the required data collection is difficult.^' 



Second, the term "science and technology" represents enormously broad fields ot 

 knowledge and know how that, in turn, relate to the even broader range of social 

 purposes, cultural milieus, and international competition within which 

 "development" goes on.^* To set priorities and measure progress at the national level 

 is difficult — and in international forums and institutions, it is virtually impossible. 

 Now add to this the third problem —the controversial elements ot the relationships 

 between R&rD and economic change and you have a thorny thicket indeed. 



One final reason for sluggish policy making at UNCSTD ought to be noted: the 

 politics of UN negotiations depend upon diverse coalitions of varied nations 

 Although it is a truism that individual nations can be expected to act in ways that 

 serve their interests — and to be tough-minded about what those interests are— the 

 most difficult problems in policy ari.se when interests only become very important as 

 projections into the distant future and when those interests go beyond the national 

 boundaries, in most capitols. as the saying goes, "the urgent drives out the 

 important." In the headlines, a civil war or a summit conference tends to drive out 

 reports on the world's agricultural productivity or population control. 



Speaking of population, for example, it is hard to fathom what it really means for 

 the entire world to talk about the billion poorest and most malnourished people 

 today, much less about the additional billion people in many nations who desperately 

 will be seeking food and shelter by the year 2000." By that year, the potential for 

 social disorder will be great unless the industrialized countries soon come to terms 

 with their fundamental interests in their relations with the Third World. Yet most ol 

 the time such longer range international interests (and the technological relation 

 ships affecting them) remain largely beyond the horizons of senior officials. 



Prospects for Prnj^ress 



In conclusion, some bright spots shinild be mentioned. Despite the frequent chants 

 of gloom about UNCSTD. there are prospects for progress along three broad lines 



The first line, still dimly perceived, is the encouraging realization that global 

 issues matter and that those i.ssues must be resolved with global participation 

 Building for some years, this perspective has been dramatized by several UN 

 conferences, by organizations such as tlu Club of Rome and the Internationa! 



