THE UNITED NATIONS AND ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CO-OPERATION.

By Robert E. Asher '31, Walter M.Kotschnig, William Adams Drown Jr. andAssociates. Washington, D. C.: The Brookings Institution, 1957, 561 pp. $2.50.

Wartime international discussions, emanating from the almost universal and subsequently substantiated fears of the likelihood of political chaos, economic disequilibrium and social upheaval following the cessation of World War II hostilities, culminated in the hopeful establishment of the United Nations system: for more than ten years this system; i.e., the United Nations Organization and the constellation of specialized agencies brought into affiliation with it, has striven to discover prescriptions by which the harmful effects of these extremely intransigent conditions might be alleviated. In view of the difficulties encountered by the United Nations system and the environment within which it was constrained to function, it is no wonder that criticism of its methods and activities, even its mandate, should have arisen and that proposals for changes in the system should have been promulgated.

The United, Nations and Economic andSocial Co-operation is a portion of one volume of a seven volume study, sponsored by The Brookings Institution, which is designed to assay the efficacy of the United Nations experience and to evaluate the implications of the proposed changes in the system. This, patently, must be considered a praiseworthy project conceived on an immense scale. Since the avowed purpose of the entire study is to contribute to better public understanding, however, the sheer size of the undertaking is a drawback.

Nevertheless, the present volume constitutes an effective, although unavoidably intermediate, step in this educational process. As the title suggests, the authors unfold a chronicle of the reaction of the United Nations system to postwar economic and social problems, the slow progress made toward their solution, and the painful withdrawals necessitated by the course of events.

The impingement of politics and national and bloc self-interests upon the constructive efforts of the United Nations provides a realistic leitmotiv. Indeed, one of the most enlightening aspects of the authors' approach is the degree to which the aspirations and viewpoints of the underdeveloped areas and the Communist orbit, as well as those of the industrialized nations, have been subjected to rigorous appraisal. These pressures and the intrinsic complexity of the United Nations system's objectives have given rise to a trend toward instructed, official, government representation within the organization rather than toward supranational authority and have led to the adoption of a pragmatic, evolutionary approach to its tasks.

It would take long-standing familiarity with the United Nations system's varied activities and many hours of research to gain the experience conveyed through this volume. The book's ultimate value lies not in its direct appeal to the general public - the authors did not cater to the public's reading proclivities - but rather in its message to teachers and researchers and through them, eventually, to the public. Surely out of the continuing strains of the postwar era it will be heartening to learn that the achievements of the United Nations system "alford a basis for qualified optimism about the future."