Many nations in Asia and Africa have now become fully responsible for their destiny. What kind of nations will they become? Will they be swept along by the vision of progress through authoritarian discipline exemplified by the Communist nations? Or will they recognize and seek the ideal of individual freedom, of truth, of respect for man as an end not a means, which Western civilization at its best illustrates? The challenge facing Western civilization is that of inspiring the leadership of the world’s emerging nations.
A version of this article appeared in the January 1964 issue of Harvard Business Review.