Rostow, Kennedy, and the Rhetoric of Foreign Aid.

• Author: Goldzwig, Steven R.
• Position: Book Reviews

Rostow, Kennedy, and the Rhetoric of Foreign Aid. By Kimber Charles Pearce. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2001; pp. x + 173. $35.95.

In Rostow, Kennedy, and the Rhetoric of Foreign Aid, Kimber Charles Pearce has provided an interesting and detailed account that meets the reader at a number of important intersections implicating a bevy of compelling relationships, including but not limited to social science and public policy, rhetoric and history, rhetoric and economics, influential rhetoric on the presidency and a number of presidential administrations, and cold war decision-making and foreign policy. Moreover, Pearce employs a case study that documents an important program: John F. Kennedy's Alliance for Progress. As a result, much is accomplished, much of it original, and all in a rather economical 121 pages (excluding endnotes and references).

Chapter 1: "From the Academy to the White House: Rostow, Foreign Aid, and Social Scientific Advocacy," provides us with a brief biography of Rostow and a record of his government service. Rostow would distinguish himself as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University, complete a Ph.D. in economic history at Yale, and serve during World War II at the State Department and at the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Rostow returned from the war intent on further establishing his academic and public policy career. He joined his friend and former CIA employee Max F. Millikan to co-found the Center for International Studies (CENTS) at MIT. The center's mission focused on developing a "world economic plan in U.S. foreign policy" (p. 13). While CENTS was assisted by some major foundations, it also received funding from the CIA. In Pearce's account, it is a somewhat minor disappointment that the relationship between the CIA and CENIS is largely unexplored. What becomes clear is that Rostow and his associates became convince d that the "gap" between the rich and the poor was a destabilizing force in world politics and that attention to this matter was critical. Rostow was intent upon convincing President Eisenhower of his views. Between 1956 and 1959, Rostow testified three times before Congress, outlining his views on the Soviets, economic development, and U.S. foreign policy issues. During the same period Rostow met with John F. Kennedy, who served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Rostow was particularly instrumental in advising Kennedy on economic aid to India, even drafting some of...