Social Justice in an Open World: The Role of the United Nations
Secretariat the capacity to establish a strong and respected voice in the debate on development and to play a significant role in concrete development activities. Third world development constituted the most dynamic part of the United Nations and its most recognized face in rich and poor countries alike. At the beginning, the growth model offered by the regimes of the countries that emerged victorious from the Second World War and, very soon after, the example offered by the rapid reconstruction and economic recovery of defeated countries, particularly Germany and Japan, were accepted without question. Economic growth, through judicious investments, the establishment of a modern infrastructure, employment creation, education and training, and a mix of public and private initiatives, constituted the key to development. Outside the Soviet Union and its sphere of domination in Central and Eastern Europe, the influence of communism on development theory and practice was relatively limited. After all, the concept of organizing investments and other public activities for economic development within the framework of an annual or medium-term plan had been conceived by France and the United Kingdom and applied in some of their colonies since the end of the nineteenth century. Communism and the power of the Soviet Union were, for the countries of the third world, more a source of political leverage in their efforts to gain independence from colonial and neocolonial powers than an inspiration for their development strategies. The non-aligned movement was, as its name suggests, a political effort to avoid dependence on either of the superpowers of the time. It proposed ideas and strategies for establishing effective relations with these superpowers, for defining the global position and status of formerly colonized countries, and for combating neocolonialism. It did not, however, furnish a new theory of economic growth or a new vision of social progress. Western countries were all more or less applying Keynesian principles and implementing policies that represented a rather happy mix of liberalism and socialism. Ideological controversies essentially reflected an EastWest divide. It was in this context that Western countries were able to agree, in 1969, to earmark between 0.7 and 1 per cent of their gross national income for ODA to help the developing countries of the world. A series of 10-year International Development Strategies were adopted by the General Assembly, and monitoring results showed that they not only shaped international cooperation for development but also influenced the national policies of both developing and developed countries. The United Nations, it seemed, was on track for promoting development and greater internationaljustice.
4.2 Questioning the development model and seeking a new distribution of power in the world The pursuit of international cooperation for development through the United Nations was characterized by enormous difficulties and controversies. In progressive