Post-War Primary Commodity Control Before UNCTAD

The social structures discussed in this volume, like all social structures, are contrived and imperfect systems created by varied groups of people over time, in response to situations and issues open to a variety of interpretations. Some readily fell apart while others have lasted over three decades. This first chapter briefly reviews the early post-World War II deliberations and actions on primary-commodity control devices later included in the Integrated Programme for Commodities of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to show why certain devices were found easier to negotiate than others, and so far as possible, to touch upon the beliefs, attitudes, motivations, habits, expectations, and perceptions of those involved in the dialogue that eventually created UNCTAD and held it and related organizations together.