Conference given by Julio E. Núñez at Meeting of the
Instituto Chihuahuense de Estudios Sociales; Chihuahua,
Mexico, June 29, 1963.

THE DYNAMIC SOCIETY

It is a great pleasure and honor to be here with you today to discuss with you what I consider to be problems of fundamental importance to all of us. It is a source of real hope for the future to see men of vision and action actively dedicated in a practical way to showing that our traditional western system is capable of providing the leadership necessary to solve the problems of our day. The Instituto Chihuahuense de Estudios Sociales, in its objectives as set forth in its Statutes, spells out a necessary equilibrium between thought and action which is essential to establish in Latin America today. Latin America is not, and never has been, lacking in excellent ideas, but it has been almost terrifyingly weak in executing them in a practical way. The Instituto, in placing stress on concrete solutions and their practical application, seems to me to be demonstrating an excellent appreciation of the urgency of the moment. If the Instituto is as direct and forceful in all of its activities as it has been in bringing me here to this pleasant city, I can assure you that all of its efforts will be crowned with success.

There can be no question in the minds of any of us that this hemisphere is in the midst of a grave political, economic and social crisis and that the solution found for this crisis will determine its history for many years to come, indeed, it could determine the history of the world for generations. While there are many special factors which affect and shape this crisis, factors of a local or regional nature, I

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would venture to say that it is only a reflection of the grave crisis affecting the entire
western world. Unrest, discontent and violence seem to be the keynote of our modern
western society. As the months and years pass, it does not appear that any appreciable
progress is being made to ease or solve this situation. Rather it would seem that it
is being constantly aggravated.

From outside we are faced with an ever increasing and total onslaught by
the forces ofatheistic communism upon the very essence of our societies. The aim
of this group is to destroy the fabric of our traditional ways and institutions and to
replace them with customs and systems totally in conflict with the basis of our we-
stern society, with freedom and the dignity of the individual, before the State and
before his God. Communism has developed a mystic and a doctrine which is hammered
into the minds of the faithful with a persistence that one must marvel at. Our enemies
have realized that in ideological unity there is strength and they have created a mono-
lithic doctrine which brooks no deviation in action or in thought.

Internally, our society has failed dismally in developing a coherent mystic
or doctrine in which all of western society can find ideological unity and strength.
This is a failure on the positive side resulting primarily, in my judgment, from a
lack of understand of the fundamentals of our society or, indeed, of any society. On
the negative side our efforts to combat the communist enemy are largely ineffectual
because we have failed to properly appraise the reasons for its success.

I have painted a rather dreary picture, I believe, realistic picture. However,
it is a picture which can change. If we in the west in general, and particularly here
in Latin America, begin to understand the reasons for our failures and begin to react
with the vigor and imagination that propelled our western society to the greatest im-
pulse for progress known in the history of man, the picture will change dramatically.
In order to create and maintain this dynamic society, it is essential to understand the
essence of all societies.

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It is palpably clear that no society of any sort functions without leadership. In all aspects of our lives this is apparent - in our business, in our club, in our government at all levels. Leadership is the spark that puts vitality into all human societies. It is the most unique of qualities. Those who have it by nature wish to exercise it. It is in the competition generated by those with leadership ability to achieve authority in whatever field of endeavor it might be, and at no matter what level, that the forward thrust of mankind has been realized. Only the society that offers its human raw material an opportunity to obtain the tools of leadership can expect to be both dynamic and stable. By definition, not all can be leaders, but if all are given an opportunity to display leadership, then the able in the society will tend to be the guides and moving forces of that society.

I am speaking here obviously of meritorious leadership, leadership based on ability, intelligence and courage. Leadership in a western society has too often been misinterpreted to mean hereditary leadership based on the intelligence of prior generations. The kind of leadership to which I refer must be proven not just by every generation but every day. The leadership to which I refer is found also at all levels of society and not only involves leading men or institutions, it is also leadership by example. A good carpenter, a good tailor, a good policeman are all displaying leadership in their own endeavor and while each activity must have its place in the hierarchy of every society, it is the leadership element at each level which will determine our future. It is they that inevitably move a society in all its broad aspects.

A society is stable to the degree that those within it who have a capability for leadership are given an opportunity to express it. This stable society becomes dynamic when the development of and renewal of the leadership group becomes a constant and positive endeavor of the established leadership element.

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One may wonder why such stress on just one segment of the society, what about the underfed or the generally underprivileged? It is essential that this aspect of the problem be put into proper perspective if we are to survive as a system based on a Christian and western appreciation of the essence of man. The problem must also be faced with a clear knowledge of the capabilities of our own society and a courageous understanding of the danger we face today.

Fundamentally, the tragedy of the underfed and underprivileged is that amongst them unquestionably there are large numbers of potential leaders. The world needs them and must have them. It is one of the mysteries of the quality of leadership that no amount of stifling seems to extinguish it. It is often found in the most humble and the most underprivileged. Our enemies have understood this only too well. The communist wastes no time on the mass as such, except to use it as a force to be led to achieve the movements objectives. The communist hammers away at our frustrated young people, who have intelligence, who have the spark, who do not see in our system an opportunity to achieve an appropriate place in the scale of hierarchy. The appeal of the enemy to this group is not that communism will give food to the hungry or clothes to the needy, but it is that when communism achieves power, they will be given adequate recognition in the hierarchy.

By the same token, the communist works on those elements amongst the mass who display the potential of leadership in a society so far incapable of giving them the tools to develop this potential. The communists speak of educational progress and intellectual opportunity for this group. In any case, the enemy is engaged in a constant effort to seek those with leadership ability who are frustrated and dissatisfied and those who have the native imagination to feel the spark within them and to understand the need for it to be developed and matured.

In the meantime, what are we doing? All of our leaders both in the United States and Latin America tell us that an assault on poverty and redistribution of wealth must be the urgent and primary aim. Only in this way can we avoid communist disaster. This is both absurd and suicidal. Certainly, our Christian objective must be that all humanity be provided by society with the minimum of material goods consistent with the mores of the society in which it lives. Also, every human being has an unquestionable moral obligation to develop his faculties to the maximum of his capabilities. In order for him to do this, society has a moral obligation to give all an opportunity to achieve this development without restrictions.

One must transfer these ideas and theories to the realities of the moment, and it becomes obvious that priorities must be established and enforced. First of all must come education. Without this too many excellent human values are left dormant or inoperative and too many others become easy prey to the tantalizing offers of the communist. The fundamental public services, power, light and sanitation are also important and the State must determine the most efficient and effective way of providing them. Beyond that, I suggest that our resources can provide nothing more than programs designed to assist and foment the elements in the society that show their respective activities that they have capacity for leadership.

This developing leadership must be the cornerstone of our hopes for social progress everywhere and the eventual establishment of standards of living consistent with the minimum just expectations of our peoples. The society, however, which faces its social, economic and political problems with a recognition of the validity of the fundamental principle of hierarchy is a society with a dynamic potential and one in which the human values which we cherish will have the best chance of survival.

Attempts from within or without to bypass or avoid the established hierarchy in the attempt to improve the standard of living or to solve social problems, are doomed to failure and can only result in assisting the enemy in his task of supplanting the existing leadership group with his own more rigid hierarchy. On this score we need have no illusions, for the communist state is based on an extremely severe hierarchical principle which is much more inflexible than our own.

Obviously, we cannot be happy or satisfied with the present leadership element in our societies. They have become brittle and oftenrophied. They have thought of the privileges of their position and not of their obligations and responsibilities.

The problem is to instill in this group a new sense of purpose and responsibility and to rejuvenate it, broaden it, and to establish the kind of flexibility and fluidity in the hierarchy which is an essential of our western, Christian system. My country, the United States of America has reached its position of power, coupled with stability, because its hierarchical concept has been based on the principle that every level in it is open to those who prove merit. In addition, the system has provided the basic tools with which the development of leadership becomes a practical reality for all segments of the society. Unfortunately, however, in my judgment, my compatriots tend to forget this when they try to assist others abroad in solving their problems.

The United States aid programs in general, and the Alliance for Progress in particular, have not approached the problem of developing sound progressive societies from an appreciation of the necessity of working with and through the leadership elements, particularly in Latin America. It is not necessary, Indeed, it is not desirable, to indicate that the United States is pleased with what the present leadership element has done, but it is fundamental that our principal effort be designed to influence a proper evolution of this leadership group.

We are fortunate that in many countries, if not all, the leadership groups are recognizing the necessity for this evolution and that with help and encouragement we can hope for steady progress in this regard. This is not an appeal to maintain the established order, or to perpetuate any particular group in control, it is an appeal to give new thrust and vitality to the group which must guide progress and, by establishing it on a flexible and fluid basis, create the stimulus essential to a permanent dynamic evolution within our traditions and principles.

The Alliance has stressed that the fundamental problem in Latin America is that there are too few rich and too many poor. We insist in our statements that the "feudal" nature of many Latin American societies must be eliminated; we indicate that the fundamental problem of the area is the masses and our attempt is to communicate directly with them. This is contrary to our own interest and to the interest of the kind of society we should wish to help to establish in these countries. Rather than give the impression that we wish to by-pass the local leadership and thus indicate our disdain for it, we should aim our principal effort at working with them and through them. Groups such as the one sponsoring this meeting would seem to be a good example of the type of local leadership which should be stimulated.

We in the United States do not really understand Latin America or Latin Americans. There are very few of us who have had the training or the experience to know the local problems. We must rely on the local people there in order to get the job done. If we are to make progress in this generation and in a manner consistent with our objectives, our only hope is to deal with the present leadership and to try to convince it to do its duty.

In fairness to my country and compatriots it can certainly be said that they have not been helped too much in this process by the local leadership element. The lack of practical planning or imaginative programming by the local groups has been

a very important contribution to the failure of United States aid projects. It has not even been easy in some countries to effectively identify the leadership groups for they are well hidden by inefficiency and ineffectiveness. While we can be severe and harsh in our judgments on the Alliance, we must also realize that a good deal of the responsibility lies in the local societies themselves. I believe that the approach in Washington is more understanding today insofar as the necessity of working through the local leadership is concerned. However, if the local leadership does not indicate the way, does not organize itself so that it gives at least the impression of effectiveness, this change of climate in Washington will have no practical results.

If we are to have any chance of survival in the few years ahead, the leadership groups in Latin America must begin to prove to themselves and to their societies that they are capable of finding viable solutions for current problems. I say, chance for survival, because I believe deeply that any society not based on the principle of private, individual initiative with freedom cannot maintain for long the fabric of a western, Christian organization. We have reached the point in many countries where it is not only necessary to prove to society that private initiative can make possible a sound development, but it is necessary that the private sector recover its own self-confidence in its capacity to get the job done.

Let there be no illusions - Latin America will continue to be an important area of the world so long as there is life on this planet. If socialism and communism clamp their fist upon it, it will not disappear. We may disappear, but the nations will go on. The only issue to be decided is whether the development that must come will be within a framework fundamentally acceptable to western man and one properly reflecting the standards of our civilization.

We can be certain that unless our society proves that within its structure there will be a place for the young developing leaders at a level commensurate to their ability, this new leadership element will create or accept another type of society.

which will provide this opportunity. Further, if this leadership cannot show itself to
have the vitality and imagination to provide society with the practical solutions to its
pressing problems, then it will be brushed aside by the pressure of events.

It seems clear to me that all United States aid programs should be designed
first and foremost to developing the necessary base from which leadership must rise.
Education must be first on the list and in that category, private education should be
the most important. The private sector in each of these countries should work to-
gether to prepare projects designed to provide the broadest possible coverage for
the private educational process. Obviously, private effort cannot supplant the state
effort, but certainly, there are large areas which could best be served by privately
organized institutions. I am thinking primarily of industrial education, from the level
of the industrial arts to industrial management and to agricultural science. In many
cases the private sector will not have the funds to accomplish the job alone, but their
planning and staffing can certainly be done by private enterprise. Sound plans for
industrial and agricultural education prepared by private industrial and agricultural
groups in each country should be actively supported by the United States and by the lo-
cal governments. This should be done in such a manner as to give the credit to the
group providing the inspiration and the practical organization.

The United States should encourage its institutions of learning to engage in
active programs to assist and collaborate with local Latin American educational in-
stitutions in developing more modern curriculums which will give eager youth the
proper test of its intellectual vigor. If necessary, financial assistance should be
given in order to accomplish the cooperation. We should encourage our friends in
Europe to do the same, for I am not suggesting here that the United States should
necessarily be used as the only model. Obviously, intelligent assistance must be
based on an adequate appreciation of peculiar local needs, but intelligent men of good
faith, helped by local groups, should have no trouble with this.

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The local private sector should be the moving force in creating well-run and truly independent educational foundations designed to send abroad for training and education some of the eager young brains now developing in all the countries of Latin America. Financial help should be channeled to these institutions by their like organizations in the United States and Europe and also by the governments themselves. These students should be given an adequate opportunity to find a just place in the society to which they belong. Participation in this program should be open to all on an equal basis. Many significant strides have been taken in several countries in this regard, but much more can be done and, particularly, in maintaining a solid link between the sponsoring group and the student while abroad. In the past, too many of these excellent young people have been lost to the society that needs them because of this lack of a solid bond.

In some instances it is possible to face many problems of a modern society in one project and to indicate solutions that will tend to invigorate the present leadership and create the basis for new leadership cadres. I am thinking especially of the agricultural area. Much of Latin America is agricultural and a very important part of its population earns its livelihood from the land. Thus the problems of the land are extremely important to any analysis of the societies we are discussing. Can the present leadership group provide solutions for the problems of agricultural development within the framework of our ideals? I think it can, and I think with proper guidance that it will.

Everyone talks these days of agrarian reform. No politician in this hemisphere, north or south, refers to the general problem of Latin America without insisting on the necessity for it. The key question is exactly what is meant by the phrase. It is precisely in this area that I think the current local leadership has one of its greatest opportunities. Agrarian reform must be made a process for the creation of new leadership in a vital area and a process of providing incentive to those individuals and families who have the same pioneering spirit that developed the agricultural areas of

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this hemisphere. When agrarian reform is used as a vehicle for the rewarding of the greedy and lazy who merely wish something that belongs to someone else, on the mistaken assumption that this creates human dignity in the recipient, it can result in destroying the base of our system instead of invigorating it.

I would propose that the private agricultural and farm associations in each country, with the cooperation of their government, study closely the productive potential of the vast state lands. After a careful analysis, pilot areas should be picked out which would involve the least investment. For the area chosen, competent technicians, either local or foreign, should prepare a complete project of colonization. This would include transport, power and light, housing, schools, health, farm machinery and equipment, and an appropriate objective screening process for applicants. The aim of the project would be to bring to the area, divided into reasonable economic units, intelligent, hardworking and courageous young families desirous of becoming owners of their own land, but willing to work to achieve it.

The project, once prepared at a technical level, should then be supported by the Alliance for Progress, local government, local credit institutions and the local leadership group in general. Long term, low interest loans should be given to those chosen as colonizers on terms and conditions which would cover farm management methods, housing care and maintenance, and compulsory education for the children. All this should be administered by the local agricultural associations and at their own expense in large measure.

The health aspect of these colonizing areas would also provide an opportunity for the development of private agricultural medical centers linked to a similar institution in a large urban center. Medical education in many countries is sadly deficient because of the absence of the resident doctor system developed in the United States about 80 years ago. The young Latin American doctor gets his degree and has

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serve as the base for an industrial expansion program largely channelled through private development banks owned by responsible financial institutions, primarily on a local basis.

This type of institution should be actively supported by United States and European aid projects and by the international lending agencies. Through this credit structure the private sector should begin to impose upon itself the high business standards necessary for the free enterprise system to function. I have in mind corporate accounting practices, control of acts of directors and officers, relations with stockholders, etc. These standards may also be imposed by governments, but certainly the private sector should self-impose them where possible.

We could discuss at length each of the proposals I have made and we could, I am sure, think of others. What I have attempted to do is to indicate to you that there are many areas in which the leadership groups existing today can prove to the societies to which they owe great responsibilities that they can still function as leaders and that they have the self-confidence to make it possible for new leaders to take their place.

Life is a process of constant evolution. We all grow old and pass on, but we must realize and appreciate that the society we see around us and which has so repeatedly created greatness, is the product of men of courage and imagination. Can we doubt for one minute that this generation of leaders is capable of giving the quality of dynamism within freedom to the society we shall pass on to our children? If we act in full appreciation of our responsibilities and of our opportunities, those who are led, with dignity, will give us their loyalty and, more importantly, will give us the new blood and new strength for the constantly changing and working leadership cadre. We will then have achieved the dynamic society in freedom within our western, Christian system.