I don't know what Robert Theobald would have thought of the Seattle gathering of the World Trade Organization. The futurist, who died last Saturday in Spokane at age 70, might have thought the delegates to the 135-nation confab mistaken to pin too much hope on an ever-expanding economy, but he might have welcomed the multinational attempt to impose some order on international trade.
But one thing I know for sure: Bob Theobald would have been outraged at the violent attempts on the part of some anti-WTO demonstrators to bust up the meeting. He might have had some sympathy with their anti-business phobia (he feared that pushing the limits of economic production was a fool's errand and a mortal danger to the environment). He might have agreed with the aims of the most radical demonstrators in Seattle. But I can tell you he wouldn't have watched their tactics and murmured: “I understand.” Full Story
