peace. At the international level those objectives call for a predictable and stable international environment in which policies for stabilization, growth and development can be confidently pursued. 21. Yet today multilateral arrangements are under stress and strain. The challenge that multilateralism now faces is, in reality, a questioning of the benefits of international co-operation. It is a questioning encouraged by many factors, some of which are rooted in the experience of international co-operation during the post-war era. But it is also in part induced by the passage of time which has blurred human memory of the degree to which the insensitivity to international co-operation brought the world to economic disaster in the 1930s and to near self-destruction in the war that followed. The need for international co-operation "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war" seemed axiomatic in 1945. It is not everywhere so acknowledged today, particularly within the most powerful countries. The United Nations system was conceived as the symbol, and was established as the instrumentality, of international co-operation - for peace and security, for reconstruction and development. As the United Nations approaches its fortieth anniversary, the international system it signifies is under siege. 22. When this Committee was first established 20 years ago, a global consensus on international co-operation for development existed and could be made the unspoken premise of recommendations for action. It is doubtful whether that consensus still holds; certainly, it cannot be taken for granted. The alternative to international co-operation would be a drift towards a more rigid, fragmented and power-dominated international environment, a drift away from order, stability, predictability and rules, towards greater arbitrariness, uncertainty and exercise of power; a drift away from the multilateralist trends of the early post-war era, a return to the anarchy of the 1930s. The Committee for Development Planning is profoundly 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the importance of international cooperation and the challenges it faces, particularly in the context of economic development and stability. The author highlights the need for a predictable and stable international environment to pursue policies for stabilization, growth, and development. The text also mentions the United Nations and its role in promoting international cooperation, which suggests that the topic is related to international relations and development.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade