Quotes of the Day
As Congress spins its wheels, Fareed Zakaria's "The Strategist" portrays three years of strong political progress by the Obama Administration [Jan. 30]. It is overdue, even ripe, for recognition.
Wally Partymiller, YORK, PA., U.S.
The answer to whether Obama can have a great foreign policy is simple: no. In both his foreign and domestic policies, the President is just all rhetoric and hope.
Stephen Wong, CASTLECRAG, AUSTRALIA
TIME's editors chose the wrong cover picture for Zakaria's excellent interview with Obama. The picture of a seemingly sober and remorseful Obama walking out of the White House should have been reserved till later in the year — after he loses the election — but with a different headline: "Obama's World Collapses."
Taiwo Danjuma, EGERKINGEN, GERMANY
The Future of Capitalism
Re "How to Save Capitalism" [Jan. 30]: Capitalism needs a total overhaul, starting with the separation of investment and retail banking. The casino bankers can play with their own money. Transaction taxes will slow computer-driven speculation, but they have to be agreed to internationally. Shareholders should empower themselves and inject some sense of social responsibility into company activities by questioning excessive CEO pay.
Nigel Wade, ILFORD, ENGLAND
With great hope for answers, I read the words of the erudite contributors to this debate. Unfortunately none of them addressed the Achilles' heel of reckless, greedy capitalism. As long as one dollar of real asset is leveraged over and over via mortgage-backed securities, derivatives, etc., into thousands of dollars of "virtual" capital, a hollow economy results. Unless the culture of money begets money, and irresponsible credit extension is addressed, capitalism will flounder again and again.
Ocsi Veres, JOHNANNESBURG
Michael Schuman mentions the thinking that "left to their own devices ... bankers and executives can never be trusted to act responsibly." Given that greed and selfishness drive all human beings, none of us can ever be trusted to act responsibly. We must devise a new system that would allow accumulation of riches to drive innovation but also prevent the effects of destructive greed that is at the core of current business behavior.
Paul Kastner, SYDNEY
Carter Critique
Re 10 Questions [Jan. 30]: Asking Jimmy Carter about Iranian policy is like quizzing the Costa Concordia's captain on cruise-ship safety.
Joe Frank, SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ., U.S.
If only the powers that be in the West would heed the wisdom of Carter. If Iran could produce no more than one or two nuclear weapons even if it wanted to, we should worry slightly more about Israel's massive nuclear arsenal. It might be wise to revise our double standards when it comes to foreign policy.
Vivien Harris, GENEVA
Ideally, no country should have nuclear power (or too much of any sort of power, for that matter). But it would seem simply logical that a country having 300 or so weapons in stock is still a lot less scary and threatening than a country like Iran that may indeed have only one weapon, but is headed by people who have numerous times declared that Israel must by any means disappear from the map.
Tzvi Dvinsky, ANTWERP, BELGIUM
Carter's ineptitude during the Iran hostage crisis allowed a dangerous Islamic fundamentalist movement to flourish. Now he is telling us that Iran having one or two nuclear bombs is no major catastrophe. Maybe not for him, but for us — and the rest of the world — it sure is.
Ricardo Kohan, HAIFA, ISRAEL
The India Syndrome
The Essay could have been more aptly titled "The Pico Iyer Disconnect" rather than "The India Disconnect" [Jan. 30]. People use the free-Internet terminals in Hyderabad and many other airports in India every day. The radio-taxi service at Hyderabad airport is excellent, and if Iyer allowed himself to be conned by a couple of touts to pay a bribe to find a prepaid taxi, he must be really naive.
B. Ramaswamy, GURGAON, INDIA
Iyer's piece was incisive and a validation of V.S. Naipaul's pronouncement on India — An Area of Darkness. India will eventually choke on corruption and suffocate in pollution if redemptive measures are not taken by its leaders.
Raj Prasad, AUCKLAND
Not a Pretty Picture
The image in "Brotherhood Rising" of two women in niqab veils makes me shiver [Jan. 30]. How can the world watch as women are deprived of their rights and their dignity? I expect our democratic governments to resist these ideas about the role of women, which would mean outlawing veils in public institutions and full coverings in public.
Julia Worbs, GELNHAUSEN, GERMANY
- The Future of Capitalism; Carter Critique; The India Syndrome