ABETTING DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION IN THE THIRD WORLD

Abstract

Abstract : The contention of this article is that US policy toward the Third World in general, and counterinsurgency in particular, is fundamentally and fatally flawed because we lack a coherent vision for positive change; that development of such a vision and a concept for realizing it is possible; and that to do so would be one of the most useful things our nation could do for itself and the world. Consider the hypothetical case of Manuel: He is 26, one of eight children, the illegitimate son of a tough, moderately wealthy planter in the western province of the country of Montegura. Energetic, intelligent, and physically active, Manuel always excelled in academics, athletics, and school politics in spite of his frequent brushes with disciplinary authorities. From his father, from his observation of the gross inequalities between the small elite and the masses of peasants in his province, and perhaps from his own persecution for being a bastard son of non-aristocratic blood, Manuel developed a strong tendency to sympathize with the underdog. In the university he was introduced to Marxism. He was impressed by its analysis of the structural causes of oppression and injustice. He was excited by its vision of a classless society, where cooperation rather than competition reigned, service motivated instead of greed, and the people shared in the fruits of their productivity. He was encouraged and challenged by the revolutionary plan of action presented to him by the dynamic leaders of the underground Frente Democratico Popular (FDP); he was inspired by the examples of Lenin, Mao, Castro, CM, Ho, Ortega, and in his own country the late Santiago--martyred, but not forgotten by those who were carrying on his struggle.