I propose to examine the relationship of American democracy to the Third World along two planes of reality, one briefly sketched in outline and miniature, the other drawn with greater elaboration and substance. The brief sketch sums up all that follows; it draws on America's great leader, Abraham Lincoln, who prophetically defined the issues that faced both the young American republic and today's fledgling nations by asking the question:

Must a government of necessity be too strong for the liberties of its people, or too weak to maintain its own existence?