“We must embark on a bold new program,” Truman said, “for making the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of underdeveloped areas.” Truman’s words had the magical effect of turning a colonial endeavor into a humanitarian mission, in effect saying to the developing world, “We can help you be like us.” “Modernization” would end up being the Americans’ cleverest euphemism for empire building after 1950, and though the history of “modernization theory” has
