We need to defend the interests of those whom we've never met and never will.

The runs started in Thailand after the IMF intervened in such a dramatic way. Then the IMF came to Indonesia.

Devaluations are never easy.

The basic idea was that if a country would put its economy as an integrated piece of the world system, that it would benefit from that with economic growth. I concur with that basic view.

Extreme poverty is the best breeding ground on earth for disease, political instability, and terrorism.

It's not an accident that the U.S. ranks lowest of all major donor countries in the world - that is the share of our income that goes to development aid. Americans will ask whether, because were so generous privately, that makes up the difference. But it doesn't. We still rank far below other countries.

The defining challenge of the 21st century will be to face the reality that humanity shares a common fate on a crowded planet.