The organization, of course, had built-in limitations and weaknesses from its very formation. As the 1970 World Book Encyclopedia states: “The UN is not a world government. Normally, it can only make studies and recommendations.” This is particularly true of the General Assembly, the main body of the organization, which can draw up and pass resolutions​—but resolutions which are not binding on the organization’s membership.

A major cause of disenchantment involved the voting in the General Assembly. There any of the now abundant small countries, some of which have a population of less than a million inhabitants, had a voting power equal to that of nations the size of England, Brazil, the United States or the Soviet Union. The “superpowers” often found this frustrating.

The past decade has brought the ascendancy of the Afro-Asian states to a majority status in the U.N. (more than 70 out of the 135 members). This undoubtedly was a strong factor in the success of the twenty-year-long movement to admit Communist China as a member, with its enormous population of some 800,000,000 persons. Its entrance in 1971 to a permanent position on the Security Council in the place of Nationalist China also contributed to the U.N.’s radically changed aspect. Clearly, things would never return to the way they were during the global organization’s infancy.

Despite expansion, to the world’s view there was no notable sign of renewed strength of the U.N. The so-called “Third World,” made up of the poorer, “developing” nations, had come into the extraordinary position of being able to put resolutions through the General Assembly in the face of opposition from the “superpowers.” But the “Third World” nations did not have the means to give “muscle” to these resolutions. The general state of frustration continued and the giant organization twitched, groaned and shouted, but generally could not coordinate its strength for decisive action.