In agreeing to serve on the South Commission, my colleagues and myself undertook the work of together looking at the South, analyzing the problems its countries face, the strategies they have adopted for dealing with them, and the lessons which could be drawn from past experience in the light of current and anticipated international conditions. All of us, from the beginning to the end, had a single purpose in mind. That purpose was to help the peoples and governments of the South to be more effective in overcoming their numerous problems, in achieving their ambition of developing their countries in freedom, and improving the lives and living conditions of their peoples.