Book Reviews : The American Federal Government. By MAX BELOFF. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1959. Pp. v, 213. $4.50.)

• Published date: 01 September 1960
• Author: Maure L. Goldschmidt
• DOI: 10.1177/106591296001300319
• Date: 01 September 1960
• Subject Matter: Articles

805

Mr.

Barnett

finally

comes

to

grips

with

the

basic

problems

in

a

chapter

summarizing

the

imaginable

&dquo;choices&dquo;

or

alternatives

broadly

open

to

the

United

States.

These

he

groups

under

four

headings:

first,

a

&dquo;policy

of

accommoda-

tion&dquo;

to

Communist

China

which,

in

effect,

would

accept

Peking’s

basic

claims

(which

he

rejects

as

a

practical

or

desirable

alternative);

second,

a

&dquo;policy

of

liberation,&dquo;

which would

call

for

the

exertion

of

all-out

pressures

to

subvert

and

disrupt

the

Communist

regime

on

the

mainland

(which

he

rejects

on

the

ground

that

it

would

be

no

more

practical

or

desirable

than

a

policy

of

full

accommoda-

tion) ;

third,

a

&dquo;policy

of

limited

pressure&dquo;

against

Communist

China,

which

he

regards

as

our

fundamental

policy

posture

at

present,

but

which

he

regards

as

so

unsuccessful

that

its

continuance

&dquo;may

merely

result

in

one

small

defeat

after

another

for

American

policy&dquo;;

and

fourth,

a

&dquo;Two

Chinas

policy.&dquo;

The

&dquo;two

Chinas&dquo;

alternative

occurs

in

many

forms,

but

Mr.

Barnett

believes

we

should

move

in

the

direction

of

stabilizing

the

present

situation

in

which

two

Chinas

actually

exist

and

enjoy

international

personality.

Such

a

course,

if

elected,

would

not

solve

all

existing

problems

or

avoid

problems

for

the

future,

but

he

believes

that

by

moving

in

that

direction

&dquo;thus

altering

its

basic

posture

toward

China,

the

United

States

could

reduce

many

of

the

dangers

and

liabilities

inherent

in

its

current

policy

and

could

enlist

wider

international

support

[generally

nonexistent

at

present]

for

creating

and

preserving

a

more

stable

situation

in

the

Far

East.&dquo;

In

moving

along

such

lines,

however,

Mr.

Barnett

insists

that

we

should

not

proceed

unilaterally,

but

in

co-operation

with

other

non-Communist

countries

on

whom

the

future

of

Asia

depends.

Hence,

the

challenge

of

Communist

China

requires

not

so

much

a

&dquo;China

policy&dquo;

as

&dquo;an

effective

Asia

policy

in

the

broader

sense.&dquo;

Only

so

will

we

be

able

to

confront

successfully

Mao’s

confident

proclamation

that

&dquo;the

east

wind

prevails

over

the

west

wind.&dquo;

If

the

American

public

can

be

brought

to

accept

Mr.

Barnett’s

framework

as

a

basis

within

which

to

conduct

the

continuing

&dquo;debate&dquo;

over

China

policy,

it

will

have

taken

a

great

step

toward

accurate

comprehension

and

realistic

resolution

of

the

many

issues

involved.

H.

ARTHUR

STEINER

University

of

California,

Los

Angeles

The

American

Federal

Government.

By

MAX

BELOFF.

(New

York:

Oxford

University

Press,

1959.

Pp.

v,

213.

$4.50.)

This

little

volume

is

written

primarily

for

non-Americans

who

are

interested

in

understanding

the

role

of

the

United

States

in

world

affairs

and

the

ways

in

which

its

policies

are

affected

by

its

political

institutions.

As

Professor

Beloff

frankly

puts

it,

&dquo;It’s

our

own

fate

we

are

worried

about

when

we

study

the

American

scene.&dquo;

The

book

concentrates

on

the

central

government,

and

especially

on

those

agencies

which

most

directly

influence

the

conduct

of

foreign

relations.

Thus

about

half

the

work

is

devoted

to

chapters

on

the

President

and

the

Administra-

tion.

The

author

is,

however,

very

much

aware

of

the

power

of

Congress

to