The Governing of Micronesia: a Report on the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Kugel, Kenneth (1952). The Governing of Micronesia: a Report on the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Report). Bureau of the Budget, Executive Office of the President.
- Has attachment: File:WZP9LT88.pdf
Abstract: "...A few of the more general questions of this order are immediately raised by the major goals defined in the Trusteeship Agreement. As has been s u g g e s t e d above t h e r e a r e g r e a t and perhaps even insurmountable barriers of geography, language, and culture to a unified, territory- wide self-government at least for the foreseeable future, though local and district self-government may be feasible in most cases. However, even in this area there are questions about the patterns self-government should follow. Should it, for example, be democratic or should it simply reinforce the traditional aristocratic chieftanship system; and if democratic should it necessarily embrace western notions about representation, the rule of the majority, or separation of powers?
Likewise there is a question, briefly touched on above, about the role of Micronesia in the world economy. Are the resources of the islands sufficient to support a large measure of world trade or should the people be satisfied with an abundant subsistence economy? Whichever choice is made, and no choice should be made without a more profound evaluation of the resources of Micronesia than has thus far been made, there are the questions of what are reasonably attainable goals, eschewing dreams, and how do the islanders assess these goals in terms of their own appraisal of their economic wants and capacities? Similar questions follow from our responsibilities for the education and the health of Micronesians.
Should education be limited to the skills required for a simple island life, or should individuals be encouraged to seek their maximum potential wherever i t may be in the larger world community? Should contacts in education with more advanced cultures be carefully restricted or should they be engineered and encouraged? Should modern public health be carried to all of the remote islands, and if so how regularly, and how complete should be the facilities available those remote areas?..."
