Word: conflict
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...multiparty parliamentary system and is preparing to hold its fourth general election since it attained independence from Britain in 1966. The country is Botswana, and its state of health is all the more remarkable for the fact that it is encircled by the major states of conflict in the region: Rhodesia, South Africa, Namibia (South West Africa), Angola and Zambia...
...next category considered is titled, rather ominously, "Controversial Donors." These are people "who are said to have earned then money by immoral means or to have acted in ways that conflict with strongly held values in the community." Bok notes that Harvard has historically taken such money and looked the other way, which presumably is an argument for Harvard continuing to do so. Besides, if Harvard were to refuse one such gift, he implies, it would have to consider doing the same to all unsavory gifts, and if it took one and not another, it would commit the great...
...Harvard knows in advance that a donor's actions are completely in conflict with University values, continues Bok, it should not take the money. Harvard should therefore strive to ignore as much as it can about the backgrounds of its potential donors, or so Bok seems to argue: "I am not yet persuaded that Harvard should have an obligation to investigate each donor and impose detailed moral standards." Once Harvard has accepted a gift, he protests, it should not renege on its agreement, because this "may inflict pain on relatives..." The pain inflicted on the donor's victims, of course...
Whether he knows it or not, this policy removes all of Bok's ethical problems: How can a donor's life and actions possibly be "in plain conflict with the values and ideals of the institution," when Harvard clearly has no values except economic survival...
...British can brace themselves for the possibility of bitterness and conflict on a scale hitherto unknown if the Tories carry through on their campaign rhetoric. The United Kingdom's energy self-sufficiency--thanks to North Sea oil--and the Labour government's achievement in paying off Britain's international debts will provide a base for the much-vaunted cuts in income taxes. Many argue that such revenues should be used directly to improve the quality of social services for ordinary people and to finance the modernization of British industry that is so desperately needed...