Book Reviews : Foreign Aid and Foreign Policy. By EDWARD S. MASON. (New York: Harper & Row, 1964. Pp. ix, 118. $3.50.)

• Author: M.R. Merrill
• Published date: 01 December 1964
• Date: 01 December 1964
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/106591296401700450
• Subject Matter: Articles

840

Senator

Lyndon

Johnson

had

written

a

letter

to

management

reminding

them

of

his

support

for

Taft-Hartley

over

Truman’s

veto

and

his

support

for

much

of

Landrum-

Griffin.

Professor

McAdams

also

explains

that

the

&dquo;direct

coordination

of

the

man-

agement

groups

by

the

Administration

made

possible

working

relationships

which

were

smoother

than

had

ever

been

achieved

before

among

usually

widely

ranging

groups.&dquo;

In

placing

such

heavy

emphasis

on

the

power

of

constituents’

letters,

some

prob-

lems

arise

which

were

not

adequately

answered

in

this

work.

How

many

people

who

do

write

actually

check

their

congressman’s

vote?

How

long

does

a

constituent

re-

member

even

a

&dquo;wrong&dquo;

vote

and

what

other

issues

will

mitigate

the

importance

of

this

one

matter?

If

a

member

explains

his

vote

was

a

matter

of

&dquo;principle,&dquo;

will

not

some

sympathy

offset

the

claim

that

he

was

labor-bossed?

If

he

diligently

promotes

his

district’s

vital

interests,

could

not

an

occasional

slip

be

overlooked?

When

legis-

lation

is

as

complex

as

Landrum-Grifhn,

a

broad

segment

of

the

population

could

hardly

be

expected

to

maintain

a

firm

and

clear

conception

of

congressional

duty

for

a

long

period.

These

comments

do

not

detract

from

this

high

calibre

work;

the

book

is

not

intended

to

be

a

complete

theory

of

public

opinion.

It

is

an

excellent

case

study.

St.

John’s

University

DENNIS

KILLEEN

Foreign

Aid

and

Foreign

Policy.

By

EDWARD

S.

MASON.

(New

York:

Harper

&

Row,

1964.

Pp. ix, 118.

$3.50.)

Edward

S.

Mason

has

made

a

penetrating

examination

of

foreign

aid

in

the

Elihu

Root

lectures

delivered

last

year

at

the

Council

of

Foreign

Relations

and

now

published

under

the

title,

Foreign

Aid

and

Foreign

Policy.

His

conclusions,

sharply

phrased

and

succinctly

stated,

will

not

be

hailed

by

either

those

who

would

eliminate

or

drastically

reduce

the

economic

assistance

sector

of

foreign

aid,

nor

by

the

more

ardent

advocates

of

foreign

aid

who

are

emotionally

committed

to

a

vast

expansion

of

the

program.

But

for

the

intelligent

and

interested

citizen

who

is

confused

by

the

clamor

and

frustrated

by

the

obfuscation

of

the

experts’

vocabulary,

this

slender

volume

is

required

reading.

Few

will

question

the

author’s

qualifications.

As

Lamont

University

Professor

at

Harvard

and

as

a

member

of

the

Committee

to

Strengthen

the

Security

of

the

Free

World

(Clay

Committee) ,

and

as

an

active

leader

and

participant

in

establishing

and

operating

aid

programs

he

has

acquired

both

knowledge

and

insight.

Fortunately

he

is

able

to

make

an

objective

analysis

and

state

his

position

with

clarity

and

force.

Four

fundamental

subjects

are

discussed

-

&dquo;Aid

as

an

Instrument

of

Foreign

Policy,&dquo;

&dquo;Foreign

Aid

in

Search

of

a

Rationale,&dquo;

&dquo;The

Problem

of

Equitable

Sharing

of

the

Foreign

Aid

Burden,&dquo;

and

&dquo;The

Alliance

for

Progress.&dquo;

He

limits

his

exami-

nation

to

the

central

core

of

each

problem.

There

is

full

recognition

of

the

com-

plexity

and,

indeed,

the

ambiguity

of

each

area.

He

makes

no

claim

to

omniscience,

but

he

reaches

conclusions,

and

says

what

they

are.