NATIONAL SECURITY ." POLICY


Progracm  and o08st; the Broad Implications of NSC 68
   The preparation and appraisal of programs to carry out the objec-
 tives of NSC 68, as they may be approved, is a major task of the Ad
 Hoc Committee. Until some notions of magnitude and duration are
 available, it is difficult to appraise the implications of NSC 68 in even
 the most preliminary way. Certain broad comments may, however, be
 put forward.
   In the Council's view, the United States economy's capacity for
growth is such that substantial new programs could be undertaken
without serious threat to our standards of living, and without risking
a transformation of the free character of our economy. Yet the adop-
tion of such programs would create major problems of economc and
social policy. Unless carefully and imaginatively prepared, their adop-
tion could create concerns on the part of the Congress and the public
which could ultimately threaten their success.
   These problems and concerns stem in large measure from an in-
 adequate appreciation of our capacity for growth. They stem from a
 conviction that increased defense must mean equivalently lowered
 living standards, higher taxes and a proliferation of controls.
   In some measure, these apprehensions can be reduced by education
 and persuasion. In some measure they can be offset by appeal to the
 people's basic willingness to sacrifice in the interests of a free society.
 But in considerable measure they will remain, and will strongly in-
 fluence both the magnitude and the character of new programs that
 can be realistically put forward.
   This means that programs cannot be framed solely, or even pre-
dominantly, in terms of our physical capacities. It :means that tlhere
will be limitations of a non-economic character on n'creases in ex-
penditures, and pressures of like character toward reducing expendi-
tures 'in non-defense areas and revising our tax structure. These limi-
tations and pressures must be taken into account. From the Council's
standpoint, the basic problem will be to contribute to the develop-
ment of recommendations which can make a maximum contribution to
our economic and military strength within this framework.
                                           HAMILTON Q. DEARBORN
                                 Approved: LEON H. KEYSERLIwG


                         Editorial Note
  The Foreign Ministers of the United States, the United King-

dom, and France met in London from May 11 to May 13, 1950, for
far-ranging discussions of problems of mutual concern. Thes oon-


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