Americanization: Ideology or Process? The Case of the United States Technical Assistance and Productivity Programme

This chapter examines the New Left argument that the Marshall Plan evolved out of the corporatist framework of American foreign economic policymaking set before the Second World War. It also challenges the notion that the economic goals and programmes of the Marshall Plan enhanced and remained compatible with the thrust of cold war strategic defence. As evidence to the contrary, this chapter focuses on one Marshall Aid programme, the US Productivity and Technical Assistance Programme (USTA&P), and its struggle to advance business reform overseas in the face of shifting cold war military objectives and European reactions.