In order to provide a basis for improving United States policies toward Latin America in the 1980s, the document examines past U.S. policy and relations, evaluates recent U.S. approaches, and offers a reassessment of current U.S. interests in Latin America. The book is divided into five chapters. Chapter I discusses social, economic, and political change in Latin America from the 1950s through the 1970s. Topics include the 1961 Alliance for Progress, the prosperity and integration of Latin America into the world economy, the trend away from democratic institutions, and the rejection of U.S. dominance. Chapter II compares the traditional view of U.S.-Latin America relations in terms of cultivating security and private economic interests with a new concept of U.S. interests. Problems of massive immigration, advanced nuclear research in Latin American countries, growing economic interdependence, and authoritarian regimes are noted. Chapter III examines the policies of Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter. Chapter IV proposes a restructuring of the entire economic and political order on the basis of consistently applied liberal policies of a free market which serves the interests of weaker as well as stronger countries. Suggestions are offered for applying this approach to trade, finance, foreign investment, technology transfer, foreign investment, migration, and human rights. Methods for implementing free market policies are discussed in Chapter V. Discussion questions conclude the document. (KC)