No organization in the world embodies as many dreams, yet provides so many frustrations, as the United Nations. For most of its history, the Security Council has been the prisoner of great-power maneuvering; the General Assembly a theater of empty rhetoric; the Economic and Social Council a largely dysfunctional irrelevance; and the Secretariat, for all the dedication and brilliance of a host of individuals, alarmingly inefficient.
世界上没有哪个组织能像联合国那样被寄予如此多的梦想，同时带来如此多的沮丧。在联合国安理会的历史上，大部分时间里它都是超级大国角力的工具；联合国大会是空洞说辞的舞台；经济和社会理事会只是个毫无用处的枝节；而秘书处成员尽管无不由鞠躬精粹、才华横溢的个人充任，却总是做不出成绩。