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Nothing about Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe [NOTEBOOK, May 1], has changed in more than 20 years. He is a barbaric tyrant who has been aided and abetted by the international community. Had the Ian Smith regime of the '60s and '70s prevailed, Zimbabwe would now be well down the democratic road to equitable land distribution as well as peace and harmony--not to mention economic stability. Britain, in particular, has a lot to answer for, especially the lives of the white farmers (and their loyal black workers) who are being sacrificed on the altar of political expedience. DAVID J. PARSLEY Johannesburg
In Defense of Greenspan
You published letters that criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's recent actions and their effect on the stock market [LETTERS, April 3], but many people have not considered Greenspan's uncanny ability to see into the future. When his actions impact the dollar, critics say nothing, but when they affect markets around the world, then all of a sudden people are full of ideas about how things should be handled. Bashing Greenspan is not productive; why not be patient? Deep down, we know that he sees the whole picture and that he won't let us down. JAMES FOX Dundalk, Ireland
The Pace of Globalization
The common goal of the new radicals who gathered to protest policies of the World Bank and the IMF [WORLD, April 24] was best defined by George Soros in The Crisis of Global Capitalism. He theorizes that organizations like the WTO, the IMF and the World Bank are trying to engineer a world that will be based on market values, whereas we antiglobalists want a different world, one based on community values. The well-being of people should take precedence over the well-being of corporations. JIM GEIWITZ Victoria, B.C.
Your report on the "new radicals" who demonstrated in Washington opened my mind to the issue of globalization. Isn't it ironic how we fear globalization and yet support the growth of the Internet, which is resulting in the oneness of the human race? Globalization involves big responsibilities. Our world is becoming a smaller place in which to live, and we must keep our minds open to change while maintaining our heritage and culture. Globalization will eventually come, and there's no way to stop it. We have to prepare ourselves now or be left behind. MARY ABIGAIL C. TANBONLIONG Pasig City, the Philippines
Americans, after enjoying a decade of prosperity with low rates of inflation and seeing a historically low rate of unemployment (4.1%), seem to be confused. The U.S. achievements are largely the result of a heightened pace of globalization that comes from high technology and the Internet. Having accomplished so much in such a short time, Americans do not seem to know where to go. There appears to be an identity crisis. Materialism can't satiate all human desires. PRABHAT KUMAR New Delhi
The IMF Around the Globe
Your story on the involvement of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Tanzania incorrectly suggested that IMF advice destroys social safety nets [WORLD, April 24]. For more than a decade, social spending has increased faster in poor countries with IMF programs than in those without; so has economic growth.