1072 PONTIFICIAE ACADEMIAE SCIENTIARVM SCRIPTA VARIA - 28 
sformation and the scientific revolution in combination leads 
to modernization. The task of international cooperation is to 
promote and help, in every possible way and in a peaceful man- 
ner, the modernization of the underdeveloped countries. 
4.2. Urgency of the task: The scientific and industrial revo- 
lution took place in West Europe and North America roughly 
over a period of three or four hundred years. It is not possible 
to wait for such a long time for the underdeveloped countries 
to attain a reasonable level of living. The historical process of 
transformation must proceed five or ten times faster. Such 
speeding up of the process of transformation has always been 
a characteristic feature of biological evolution, and can be 
achieved. 
4.3. Different phases of the transformation: Some of the 
newly independent countries are large, some are of medium 
size, and some are extremely small in area, or in natural re- 
sources or in population. They would have widely differing 
needs. The particular form and contents and components of 
each step of modernization would depend on the special condi- 
tions of each country and the stage of development reached by 
it, and would therefore, vary from one country to another or 
from one region to another of the same country and also, over 
a period of time, in the same country or in the same region. 
4.4. International cooperation: The most significant fact 
of the present age is the rapidly expanding contacts between 
different countries of the world. This tendency is bound to 
become stronger in future, increasing the scope of international 
affairs in every direction. At the same time, what George 
Washington had said about « no country being able to go 
beyond its own self-interest in international affairs », would 
continue to remain valid. The real need is, therefore, to disco- 
ver new areas of mutual self-interest, and to expand spheres 
of common interest on both bi-lateral and multi-lateral basis 
to the fullest extent. 
(14 | Mahalanobis I - pag. 
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