The Foreign Service Journal, June 2007

Russian cultural tradition. Speaking of politics, Susan Maitra’s March Cybernotes summary (“In a Pinch, Call in a Diplomat”) of Joshua Kurlantzick’s New Republic Online article arouses my deep concern as to what it now means to be a “conserva- tive.” I used to think conservatives believed that laws should be strictly enforced, allowing for people to gain the full benefit of their capabilities, while preserving traditional social val- ues. They differed from liberals chiefly in relation to economic poli- cies and social issues, but shared with them, and perhaps exceeded, their regard for the importance of law and due process. This question recalls to mind my most memorable educational experi- ence, which occurred during a spring 1968 course on economics at the Foreign Service Institute. The class met in a high-rise building in Rosslyn, with a splendid view of the Potomac and Washington, D.C. On April 18 of that year, we were listening to a lec- ture by Dr. Herbert Furth, “Inter- national Finance and the Role of Gold,” as smoke began to rise across the river. That was the day after Martin Luther King’s assassination, and riots were taking place in our nation’s capital. Columns of smoke could be seen rising from various points in the city. Dr. Furth appeared unaware of the disturbance as he discussed the stabilizing, but also limiting, effect the gold standard had on currency and the economy that depends on it. Then he paused and said: “All this may seem irrelevant to what is hap- pening across the river, but the same question is at issue in both cases. Can people govern themselves on the basis of reason, or must we always be subject to physical force?” I remember that question as I think of our constant struggle to order our world. I conclude that the answer J U N E 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 9 L E T T E R S