The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 54, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 13, 1967 Page: 3 of 8
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Galbraith criticizes 1mindless diplomacy9 in foreign policy
by RICHARD BEST
John Kenneth Galbraith, for-
mer American Ambassador to
India and now chairman of
Americans for Democratic Ac-
tion, declared here Monday that
"like attempts at regulation of
narcotics or smog control in
Houston, American foreign pol-
icy does not have a natural rep-
utation for success."
Specifically criticizing U.S.
support for the "generals' jun-
ta fighting on our side" in
Vietnam, the close adviser of
Senator Robert F. Kennedy
urged that negotiations might
take place as soon as possible.
Professor Galbraith, the fifth
speaker in the Rice University
President's Lecture Series,
1966-67, was introduced by
President Kenneth S. Pitzer to
an overflowing Hamman Hall
audience April 10.
Calling attention to Gal-
braith's several important books
on economics and their shared
period of service at the Uni-
versity of California, Mr. Pitzer
did not mention the former am-
bassador's recent election to the
chairmanship of the liberal
ADA organization.
"A Modern Foreign Policy"
was the title of the lecture
which aimed at demonstrating
the evolution of official Ameri-
can understanding of interna-
tional affairs since the end of
World War II.
Mindless Diplomat
In dry, unemotional tones
Mr. Galbraith, who is now
teaching at Harvard, criticized
Threshing-it-out
the present foreign policy estab-
lishment comprised of the De-
partment of State, the Penta-
gon, the CIA, the Ford Foun-
dation, Joseph Alsop, etc. as
sharing an almost inevitable
bureaucratic resistence to
change. He npted the classical
problem of the "mindles diplo-
mat" to whom all popular
movements are equated with
communism, and pointed to
Ellis O. Briggs, former ambas-
sador to Spain, as a typical ex-
ample.
The liberal Democrat spokes-
man claimed that there have
been three generations of
American foreign policy since
the forties. In the war-time
period there was the grand alli-
ance with Britain and Russia
and hope for a post-war comity
of nations.
New Reality
The second generation, which
confronted the cold war in Eu-
rope, had the task of rehabili-
tating Europe and protecting
the rest of the world against
the threat of monolithic com-
munism. They were impressed
by the late Senator Joseph Mc-
Carthy with the dangers of be-
ing soft on Communism.
At this stage Galbraith
claims much of American for-
eign policy thought has re-
mained. Though the rhetoric,
and particularly that of Secre-
tary of State Dean Rusk, re-
mains the same, the reality, ac-
cording to the Harvard eco-
nomist, has been radically al-
tered. Prosperity has not been
good for hardline communism.
"When a communist country
needs to produce a mass car,
it necessarily gives up some
of its ideological force."
Third Generation
There has been a decline in
the influence of fear of Russia
in Europe and thus a decline
in American authority. "Our
leadership depended on our be-
ing needed," he said.
&ow, however, a "third gen-
eration" exists which accepts
the opportunities of co-existence
with various communist states
— which have themselves
evolved.
This third generation position
has most noticeably affected
U.S. policy in Europe. The
treatment of the continent as
a unity, Galbraith said, will
hopefully lead to the end of
the special position of the West
German government in Ameri-
can policy. Talk of German
reunification, he finds, is "es-
sentially liturgical," and U.S.
attitudes less geared to the
needs of Bonn will lead to im-
proved relations with France.
Bridge Building'
Perhaps in an attempt to
soften his bitter criticism of
the Johnson administration's
policy in Vietnam, Gailbraith
praised the President for his
shrewd handling of the Multi-
Lateral Foi*ce controversy, for
his cautious treatment of Gen-
eral DeGaulle, and for broad
attempts at bridge building
with eastern Europe.
Generally Mr. Galbraith looks
for improved relations with the
Soviet Union as long as Viet-
Hencke revolted, chagrined, boggled, surprised, ired
To the Editor:
After Barry Kaplan's latest
"Ubergebung" of presumptuous
name-and phrase-dropping,
pseudo-intellectualism and mind-
less formula politics (put your
hand in the hat and pick at ran-
dom the In-case of the Week),
I am finally revolted enough to
write a letter.
I was especially chagrined to
see Mr. Kaplan still wallowing
in a paroxysm of self-satisfied
righteous indignation about the
NSA-CIA "scandal." If Mr.
Kaplan would let some facts in-
trude on his complacency, he
would learn that there were no
strings ever attached to the
CIA's money and that the NSA
asked for it to begin with.
I also boggle at the notion
that Mr. Kaplan could be so fat-
uous as to believe that there
should be no "covert opera-
tions'' in our society. He may
be dismayed to learn that the
great decline of the Klan in re-
cent years has been due in large
part to "covert operations" by
the FBI.
To my great surprise there
was nothing in his melange of
In-causes urging us all to stage
a beer bust or perhaps a small
circus down in the Valley to
draw attention to the cause of
the huelguistas. But then I
guess questions of mere human
dignity can get boring after a
while.
I also question the gratuitous
Norris lambasts voting procedure
To the Editor:
Without wanting to appear
reactionary, I believe that at
least one aspect of recent "prog-
ress" on campus is due some
criticism. I refer to the com-
puterized balloting in the gen-
eral election.
While it may be true that this
process speeds up the tabula-
tion of votes, the disadvantages
certainly outweigh whatever
value it has. Any casual observ-
er could not help but be dumb-
founded by the amount of con-
fusion caused at all the polls. I
would hazard a guess that there
were more than a few people
who did not vote as they in-
tended.
Furthermore, it seemed to me
that there were more people
than usual who came up to the
poll and left without voting, be-
cause it appeared to be too
much trouble. I don't think we
can really afford to encourage
that situation.
Such a procedure also makes
write-in votes and campaigns
very diffcult, and it denies the
student body a comprehensive
report of such votes.
What makes this method
even more absurd is the fact
that there is another very sim-
ple precedent on which we
might fall back. The Rice Stu-
dent Association can obtain
(and has in the past) voting
machines for our use in the
general election. All that need
be clone is to contact the office
of Harris County Commissioner
V. V. Ramsey and make the ar-
rangements.
The only two restrictions are
'that we can not use them with-
in 30 days of an election in the
county and we must print our
own ballots. Tabulation of such
voting is simple, and paper bal-
lots are necessary only for
write-in votes.
Although punch cai'd ballots
may be useful time-savers in
the smaller elections, they are
far too impractical and confus-
ing for the annual general elec-
tion.
JEFF NORRIS
Baker '67
JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH
Chatting in Will Rice Lounge
assumption that Stokely Car-
michael "tells it 'like it is.'"
There is nothing so revoltingly
infantile as the mechanical and
random spewing of "new" and
"daring" catch phrases in order
to show oneself as a Venture-
some Young Liberal or a
(gasp!) revolutionary.
The real liberals and 'revolu-
tionaries" are the people doing
such things as working with
VISTA or in the Peace Corps,
not to have fun or be part of
"What's Happening" but (of all
things) to help people. And
they don't even boast about it
afterward.
What irks me most is that
(CIA excepted) I have long fa-
vored many of the causes Mr.
Kaplan takes up, but after he
defiles worthy causes (e.g. hu-
elga) with clouds of insincere,
verbose pretentiousness, I al-
most wish I didn't.
W. R. HENCKE
Hanszen '69
(Editor's note: Mr. Kaplan's
article seemed much belated be-
cause it was; it was written
over a month ago, but publica-
tion was delayed because of lack
of space.—SJC)
nam doesn't heat up. NATO
will, in his opinion, be recog-
nized as a framework for wes-
tern cooperation rather than
an integrated military unit. He
hopes to see some accommoda-
tion with Russia over troop
strength in Europe because, he
noted somewhat cryptically,
"both the United States and the
Soviet Union have need of
troops elsewhere."
Co-existence
Turning to Asia, the one-
time envoy to India sees a less
realistic approach and even
more second generation rhetor-
ic, though he did not claim that
all Asian communists are inter-
ested in peaceful co-existence.
When China finally settles
down, the U.S. should, in Gal-
braith's view, welcome her into
the UN and concede .self-de-
termination to Taiwan.
But even here there ha v c
been significant moves toward
accepting a third generation
policy. President Johnson has
not been given enough credit,
he suggested, for his recogni-
tion that communism is not the
crucial element in many dis-
putes in Asia.
Vietnam still remains the
most agonizing remnant of the
cold-war position. Probably be-
cause of a recent New York
address on the subject, Gal-
braith did not discuss the prob-
lem with great care. He noted
what lie called the "abiding
popularity of the Vietcong,"
and strongly criticized the
"military junta," his term for
the Government of the Repub-
lic of South Vietnam. Avoiding
mention of recent moves to im-
plement constitutional govern-
ment, Gailbraith found the
South Vietnamese leadership
still identified with French
colonialism.
He predicted a settlement not
very different from that in
Laos, which has now returned
to "the obscurity it so .mani-
festly deserves."
Mr. Galbraith claims that the
Viet Cong will never be driven
out of control in the area south
of Saigon and this would in
fact not be worth the effort
if it could be done.
Ragland knocks 'Calendar humor1
To the Editor:
You really struck a sore spot
(and stuck your foot in your
mouth at the same time) in last
week's issue with that snide an-
ecdote after the band concert
notice:
"7:31. pm, audience loses in-
terest, returns to his room."
It was neither smart nor wit-
ty in the opinion of those in the
band who have worked for
three months on the concert.
This is an attitude which has
prevailed far too often this year
on the Thresher. It shows clear-
ly how irresponsible the Thresh-
er can be on occasion.
Those who know how fine the
band concerts have been the last
two years now know for certain
that the Thresher (and a largo
number of the rest of the cam-
pus) neither knows nor cares
how good the quality of the
concerts (and of the band in
general) have really been. (Just
ask anyone who has gone to
one!).
The band has taken these
sneering little insults from the
Thresher for far too long and
is sick of them. More people
should come this year (April 13)
and make the Super-Sophisti-
cated Thresher eat its snobby
attitude!
SHELTON RAGLAND
Hanszen '69
(Editor's note: Jokes and an-
ecdotes in the Campus Calendar
have never been intended either
to supplement or replace the re-
viewing function of the Rice
Thresher. If Mr. Ragland will
look, he will note that anecdotes
at the expense of the Thresher
itself and its staff have occur-
red with regularity, and the
comment last week about the
band concert was the first of
its kind this year. Calendar
jokes are devised to poke fun at
our friends, never to evaluate
the quality of any student pro-
duction. We are sorry that some
members of the Owl band mis-
interpreted and were offended
by our attempt at humor.—SJC)
CARL MANN, President
The Ideal Association...
You and University
Carl Mann, life-long supporter of Rice athletics, in-
vites you to open an account at University Savings.
Conveniently located near the Rice campus in The
Village, University Savings'stands ready to help
you set up a systematic savings program tailored to
fit your budget and future requirements.
UNIVERSITY SAVINGS
2500 Dunstan in The Village (home office)
5225 Bellaire Blvd. (branch office)
THE RICE THRESHER, APRIL 1 3, 196 7—P A G E 3
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Coyner, Sandy. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 54, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 13, 1967, newspaper, April 13, 1967; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245000/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.