The Current Effect of the American Aid Program

Abstract

The principal objective of the United States foreign-aid program is to help the developing countries to modernize their economies, to achieve social reforms, and to build viable social and political institutions. The most urgent immediate task, however, is to help them to increase their food-production and to reduce their rates of population growth. As a result of the added emphasis being given to agriculture, both by the developing countries themselves and by the United States and other aid-donors, India, Pakistan, and a number of other Asian nations are now in the midst of an agricultural revolution (the Green Revolution) which—if it continues to spread—will enable the developing world to feed itself for the next fifteen to twenty years. Our development-aid program has contributed much to the success of the Green Revolution. It has also enabled a number of the poorer nations to make substantial development progress. But we are now devoting too small a percentage of our resources to foreign aid—rela— tively less than is donated by many other rich nations. The reasons given for our cutting aid to this extent do not stand up. Development aid works, and it is in our interest to help countries who are willing to help themselves. The United States should take the lead in a sustained development effort which will remove the danger to peace—and the affront to decency— represented by the poverty of the Third World.