The Washington Post

 

Technological Gap -
And Italy’s Future

By Jeslma Lederberg

(The scriter, @ vectpient of the Nebel
Prive ta medicine, ia @ professor af
Diockcniistry. at Stenford University and
@ regular columnist for The Weshington
Post.)

ROME—The technological gap has be
come @ major factor In Unitcd States.
Nalian relations since it was dramatized
last July at NATO consultations by For
eiga Sfinister Amintore Fanfani. The
underlying grievanee must puzzie Amer-
dcans. It mainly reflects the very suceess
of ewr economle and ideological system
of tndwatrial progress. This is the com
sistent apptication. of seleniifie tech
nique derived from a large investment
is research and develapment.

To many itallans, however. the gap
fooms as a subtic kind of economfe im-
periatism—the penetration and cventuat
domination of the ftaliae ecanomy by
United States corporate Interests
through contrel of the most advanced
technological know-how,

We de not aecd to pursuc any theory
of malevolent inteations to perceive that
this may indeed happen: the ap ts In
fact widening. Italian culture is too lay
portant to Western democracy for us te
be complacent about Hmitations on ftal-
tan economic vigor.

Fanfani's complaints should, therefore,
Be welcomed as creating a graceful op-
portunity for a constructive dialogue,

not a defensive seif-justification en the

part of the United States. In fact, it is
widely recognized that the problem ts
largely internal; it is an educational gap
im 3taly that calls for the mest urgent
seforme.

oon

ONE ef the most articulate eritics Is
Dr. Adriana Buzzati-Traverso, professor
of genetics at the University of Pavia
and director of the International Labo-
tatory of Genetics and Biophysics at Ne
pies. Dr. Buzzati writes regularly and 8s:
gresaively on this subject for L’Espresso,
published here, and discussed the situar
Gon in detail with me on a pleasant
drive alons the Mediterranean coast
from Napics.

TUESDAY, JULY 4 1967

“ftaly is making strenuous efforts in
primary and secondary education and
devotes a (filth ef ita national badgct of
$12 billion te ft. Higher education, how
ever, accounts for only $150 miltien, vin.

- tually all of it administered by the ne

tonal ministry. Per eapita, this fs a tenth
of the United States investment. These
tags woufd be enowch to dim the expec:
talons for Italy's technological future,
‘The qualitative aspects of higher edu»
cation here darker the prospects much
nwre, Ne country in Europe has a more’
rigid, almost medieval system. Profes-
sors are so poorty paid they are expected
Jo augment thelr salarics with ether
jobs. Students are reglinented, examl.
nattonridden, bored, allcenated frem-
thelr professors and from a curricutum
almost irrelevant te contemporary tile,
. owe

PARADOXICALLY, the existing ¢s-
tablishment of university professors
must assume muck of the responsibility”
for this situation. The impetus for re-
form comes from many younger grad-
uatcs, whe have little hope of achieving.
a prized chals—vatued not for its salary’
but fer its prestige as a springboard te-
other positions, The appointment te a
professorship anywhere in Italy fs con
ducted by a formal national competition
judged by the existing professors. While
merit stifl playa a perceptibie part in

these choices, the most blatant political -

accommodations are inevitably ihe mest

important.
One of the most serious Hmitations Is

the absence of craduate education [a _

the scienees-—there ia ne degree com.
parable to the Ph.D,

The greatest contribution that Amert-

cans could make to technological devel
opment in Itaty would be to spark a new
kind of eenter of advanced education,
comparable to the best ef private Amere
ican universities. This could then be an
Insptring example of the accomplish-
ments open to 2 people who have ne lack
of fundamental intellectual resources,
Government support of intensified es
change programs, such as the Johuses
Administration has encouraged, can play
a useful part by driving home the potes-
tial chattenge. But private and industrial
support, perhaps initially from the same
United States interests accused of Impe-'
rialism, could have the greatest leverage
by sponseving uew patterns ef hisher
education irce ef the ultra-conservatism
of the existing educational hicrarchy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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