Agrarian "Reform" in South Vietnam

Abstract

The bulk of American aid to the underdeveloped countries is in the" form of military assistance. The largest per capita recipients are almost invariably dictatorships which rely upon this "military' assistance to maintain "law and order" against "Communist subversion." South Korea, Laos, Iran, Spain, and now Brazil are illustrative examples. The economic assistance which accompanies the military aid, in comparatively miserly amounts, is in effect balm for the troubled soul of the American taxpayer. If the United States is shoring up dictatorships in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and elsewhere, at least American public opinion can rest assured that these are streamlined, progressive dictatorships, which better the lot of the common peasant through altruistic reforms.

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