Articles by B L Maheshwari

B L Maheshwari Will the Corporation Survive ? by John L Paluzek;.Restow, Va, 1977; pp 255 THE business corporation, a major American innovation and a powerful instrument of capitalism, has been adopted the world over, in spite of differences of ideologies and societal goals. The big business corporation has always been under attack in the United States, as evidenced by probes and legislation. In recent years, the attack has been multipronged, concerted and severe, so that even the defenders of the citadel have begun to express doubts about the survival of the corporation. The question being asked is: will this form of corporation survive into the next century or will it be relpaced by another institutional forum? The book under review explores this there and thus deals with an issue of vital importance.

Parliament, the Executive and Public Sector Enterprises B L Maheshwari Politics, Finance and the Role of Economics: An Essay on the Control of Public Enterprises, by C D Foster, London, George Allen and Unwin; p 232.

Foreign Policy Planning B L Maheshwari Foreign Policy and Its Planning by K P Misra;Asia Publishing House, Bombay, 1970; pp 88; Rs 15.
THE study of foreign policy is an underdeveloped area in India. Few scholars devote full time to this field and one often finds it difficult to recommend even a couple of good books on Indian foreign policy. Moreover, in spite of our conscious acceptance of the need for planning at the national level, foreign policy planning has been a neglected subject. It is in this context that the attempt of a scholar of K P Misra's standing in analysing the issues, the institutional aspects and the prospects of foreign policy planning becomes a very commendable thing. Mishra begins and ends by stating that foreign policy is much too serious a matter to be left to civil servants and politicians and indicates in the book that the politicians and the civil servants also seem to agree with this view. There seems to be a general agreement on (i) the interrelationship between the domestic political process and foreign policy; (ii) increased scope, complexity and impact of foreign policies in modern times; and hence (iii) the need for planning in foreign policy. The author rightly points out that whereas democratic politics are open politics, the decision making process in foreign policy is often secret. The Pentagon Papers also established this. Misra, however, does not agree with the oft-cited view that the democratic system is not conducive to effective formulation and implementation of foreign policy. He suggests that foreign policy should be studied as an integral part of the overall policy process and methods and approaches developed in the policy science could be applied to it.

A Vent, Not a Scheme B L Maheshwari THE author of the book is an insider with 20 years in business and with many successes to his credit. Townsend knows both the strengths and the weaknesses of organisations though he concentrates on the latter. He says that three common features of organisation men are that they are docile, they are bored, and they are dull. This is an intolerable state of affairs because: "If you're not in business for fun or profit what the hell are you doing here?". The author seems to feel that there is little one can do to make the large and complex organisations more tolerable, more interesting, and more productive, so he advises the organisation men to wage non-violent guerilla warfare within the organisations to subvert them. But he recognises that it will take millions of such subversives to make much difference. Where is he going to find the wanted revolutionaries among the ranks of these docile, bored and dull organisation men?

Non-Alignment Revisited B L Maheshwari THE foreign policy of a country is a function of its aspirations and capabilities in influencing the international environment, and so the theme of continuity and change is a characteristic of the foreign policies of all countries. Since neither the international system nor the domestic milieu of different countries is in static equilibrium, understanding of a country's foreign policy can be gained, not by a snapshot approach, but only by an analysis of its evolution. The present is the point where the past and the future converge and the present is always determined by a combination of historical experiences and aspirations for the future.