Certainly, evolutionary change is a natural, in fact desirable, fact of any market economy. But that doesn't mean we forsake American workers who have been affected by globalization, or those in the developed world who may be exploited and denied basic labor rights, such as the right to organize. Moreover, the developing countries that have won those jobs tend to be much more concerned with economic growth than with environmental protection. So, they are having the same problems with industrial air and water pollution that we have had and that led to passage of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts and other environmental laws of the last 30 years. Still, the protests showed the depth of the concern that people have about globalization.
People are frightened by it.
And that means a number of things. It means actively and vigorously supporting countries that are making the transition to democracy. And we do this for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it is simply the right thing to do. But also, democracies almost invariably are more responsive to environmental, labor and social concerns and have higher standards of living than non-democratic countries. It also means making the WTO and other international institutions more open, more transparent, and more sensitive to concerns that don't fall within their traditional mandates.