Mail Call.

The Clashes in Quebec City

Fareed Zakaria's April 30 column on the anti-globalization protesters in Quebec City stirred many emotions--mostly from those who disagreed with his assertion that the protesters were "antidemocratic." The group demonstrated, one reader said, "because that's their constitutional right and because traditional democratic methods are now the sole domain of corporate interests." Others also defended the protesters and their fight against globalization. "Corporations are set up to make money, not to promote social good," declared one, while another pronounced that "we need economic growth that benefits life also--not just profits."

A Less Inclusive New Left?

Fareed Zakaria decrees that the New Left is antidemocratic ("The New Face Of the Left," WORLD VIEW, April 30). The negotiations of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) were performed in virtual secrecy; the U.S. Congress will not see the agreement until after the representatives have signed it. Five hundred corporate leaders were privy to this document, though no private citizen was. There's "democracy" in action: it kind of makes you wonder whom the FTAA will really benefit.

Steve Payne--Sebring, Florida

With so many exposes of big tobacco, big chemical, big oil and big drug companies, how can we trust these money-making behemoths to make rational decisions for the good of all? Corporations are set up to make money, not to promote social good, so governments will have to curb their worst excesses. I don't think that is naive or poor economics.

Linda E. Dale--Portland, Oregon