Abstract
THE value of the Middle East Supply Centre and its potentialities have recently been discussed in these columns, and the contribution which regionalism might make to the solution of colonial problems in the field of welfare and economics appears to be gaining wider appreciation. Nevertheless, there has recently been disturbing evidence of unilateralism, and absence of forethought or of desire to co-ordinate American policy with that of Great Britain in the area which the Centre covers. The essential point is well made in an article entitled "Caribbean Laboratory" by Mr. J. M. Jones in the February issue of the American periodical Fortune. Colonial Powers, Mr. Jones observes, must now accept the increasing and legitimate interest of other nations in the welfare of dependent peoples; Americans must learn that helping other nations is not merely a matter of spending money and giving self-government, but also involves achieving trust and respect, the imparting of cultural standards and traditions, and the patient and self-sacrificing work of colonial servants over a long period of years. That is the basis of collaboration and of constructive criticism. Mr. Jones's review of British colonial policy in the West Indies and of Anglo-American co-operation in the Caribbean leads him to welcome and foreshadow, first the gradual extension of responsibility for dependent areas from the single Power exercising administration to the international society represented by regional commissions; secondly, the bringing together of dependent peoples themselves in regions where a community of need or interests exists to help each other in the attack on common problems.
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Progress to Partnership in Colonial Development. Nature 153, 691–694 (1944). https://doi.org/10.1038/153691a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/153691a0