A synthesis of a three-week conference held by the Center. Includes opening remarks by Zelman Cowen of the Faculty of Law, University of Melbourne, Australia; a summary by Stanley K. Sheinbaum, economist on the Center staff, of the papers and points of view advanced during the meetings; and excerpts from the final meeting in which the findings of the Conference are evaluated. Among the questions raised: Is the present trend away from democracy in the emerging nations irreversible: Is the emphasis on industrial and technological development the cause of the breakdown in democratic institutions? Original conference dates in the USA, Jan. 8-29th, 1962.

The Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions (CSDI) brought together many of the most capable and distinguished minds of the times to discuss vital issues facing American society of the day. Political and academic leaders, scientists, social scientists, legal scholars, journalists, theologians, labor and community leaders focused on topics such as peace and war, democracy, dissent, community action, ecology and the environment, elections and the electoral process, immigration, international relations, law and order, the media, race and ethnicity, and religion. Prominent participants included Senator Alan Cranston, Upton Sinclair, Milton Friedman, Mortimer Adler, Cesar Chavez, Aldous Huxley, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, Sander Vanocur, and Gunner Myrdal among many others.