Suchergebnisse

For a full generation the world, like Gaul, has been divided into three parts, the rich, the poor, and the Communists. Scholars and bureaucrats have devised these economic categories, calling them the developed world, the Communist countries, and the less developed countries (LDCs). In the last few years, however, these classifications have been bursting at the seams of their logic. Even the man in the street is beginning to wonder why such nations as Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Argentina, and Brazil are still "poor" LDCs and thus eligible for various aid programs. Visual evidence of their burgeoning wealth is available on TV and in the popular press. Yet the list of developed countries remains the same. It seems no one ever gets promoted.

The question of the extent to which the public is generally competent or qualified to express opinions on questions of foreign policy is studied. The views of the general public as recorded by the Minn Poll, undertaken by the Minneapolis Tribune between early Aug 1960 & late Sep 1961, are compared with those of a panel of 79 'experts'-educators, business & professional people, org leaders, journalists, ministers & pol'al leaders. The questions asked were identical to those of the Minn Poll. It is noted that the changes in the world situation at that time influenced the opinions of the Panel & the Polls. The answers of both Poll & panel, presented in 8 tables of %'s, indicate that neither the general public nor the Coll-educated segment of it shared the views of the 'knowledgeable experts'. A large gap existed between the panel's opinions & those of the entire Poll & its Coll-educated R's. Qualitatively, the panel's responses were specific, many-sided, analytical, & flexible. Responses by the panel exhibited its greater capacity to appreciate & deal with the complexities & difficulties of foreign affairs. In contrast, the answers of the Poll R's tended to be vague & sporadic. A lack of information & interest & a tendency to react more viscerally to internat'l events than the panel was characteristic for Poll R's. Specifically, of the 67 sets of responses, 11 exhibited 'agreement' between panel & Poll, 52 'disagreement.' The 2 groups' att's on foreign affairs seem extremely far apart. It is suggested that Coll educ is not enough to produce pol'ly informed citizens. More 'knowledgeable experts' are needed with greater influence on the public as a whole. Modified HA.