Predictably, the media will automatically describe -- and discredit

--these activists as ``anti-global'' protesters. But nothing could be further from the truth. They are, in fact, the first truly global generation for whom world trade and transnational culture are already facts of life. What concerns them are the consequences and casualties of rapid and unregulated globalization.

We should listen to their message, for what they advocate reflects some of America's most cherished ideals.

Their goals are quite clear: to protect people and the planet from the galloping momentum of globalization. To that end, they seek to protect workers from unfair wages and labor conditions, and to safeguard a disintegrating environment.

Yes, they accuse the IMF/World Bank of undemocratic practices and of creating great disparities in wealth around the world. But they are not against global trade, nor are they protectionists. Rather, they are worried about unregulated free trade. They promote fair trade -- a global economy that lifts up all people rather than just the wealthy nations.

This is the first genuinely global protest in world history. The last time the young demonstrated across the globe was 1968. Then, demonstrations that took place in Paris, Mexico, the United States and dozens of other countries addressed the domestic or foreign policies of individual nations. Today's protesters, coming from all parts of the world, are as global as the institutions they oppose.

Spearheading the protests are Central and Eastern European Bankwatch, a watchdog group that accuses the IMF and World Bank of usury, and INPEG, an East European coalition of Earth Firsters and peaceful anarchists.

Joining them will be labor unions, Mexican Zapatistas, Tibetan monks, New Zealand Maori tribes, Friends of the Earth International, Jubilee 2000 (which advocates debt relief for developing nations), Fifty Years is Enough (which protests the secretive nature of financial global institutions.

Next Tuesday, activists will march through Prague in a ``day of action.'' Versions of this protest will be held in the United States and elsewhere. Leading up to this event will be a ``counter summit'' on development policy, a cultural festival and workshops on nonviolence -- to which nearly all of them are deeply committed.

In hindsight, such a movement was inevitable. With the collapse of communism, multinational corporations gained access to new markets. Like children in a candy store, some grew giddy at the prospects of new resources and workers.

As the gulf between rich and poor nations widened during the '90s, it was only a question of time before the have-nots and their first-world supporters would demand greater equality, debt relief, fair trade, improved labor conditions and protections for the environment. The IMF and World Bank, global lenders to the poor -- but elected by nobody and accountable to no one -- have turned into the institutional symbols of ``unfair'' globalization.

Concerned about such global injustices, Czech President Vaclav Havel, a playwright and human rights activist, has ex tended a warm welcome to the protesters. Having criticized global disparities in wealth, Havel has invited protesters to meet him in the Presidential Palace to discuss the problems caused by globalization. The mayor of Prague has offered the city's soccer stadium as a campground for the protesters. Havel has rightly noted that ``globalization by itself is morally neutral. It can be good or bad, depending on the kind of content we give to it.'' The spread of human rights, as he points out, is just one example of the extremely positive role that globalization has played. But Havel -- a leading critic of communism -- has also expressed strong reservations about unregulated global trade. Not everyone in Prague is as eager to welcome protesters as is Havel. Some 11,000 police, whose leaders were trained by the Washington, D.C., Police Department, will be backed by 5,000 soldiers. To prevent indoor organizing, the Czech Interior Ministry is closing all theaters and schools.

Also on hand is the FBI's new ``legal attache' office in Prague. Its ostensible purpose is to expand ``cooperative law-enforcement efforts and information sharing'' with the Czech Republic. But many activists rightly question -- as should the American public -- why the FBI has set up shop in Prague. Some organizers -- with considerable historical evidence on their side -- accuse the FBI of seeking to infiltrate and spy upon American protest groups.

Prague is just a beginning. The events that rocked Seattle last November have unleashed a wave of protest from Washington to Argentina to Taiwan. As ideas about human rights, environmental sustainability, fair labor standards and economic equity circle the world, protests will no longer just target nations, but also the financial institutions that are shaping the future of our global economy and society.

President Havel has pleaded with the media to pay attention to the substance of the protest rather than the spectacle.

Whether anyone heeds his plea, however, depends on their ability to understand the historical nature of this global event. It is this: A new generation is struggling to ensure that the emerging global society will be governed by democratic and egalitarian values -- surely a great tribute to our country's most hallowed ideals. Listen carefully, they deserve to be heard.

Ruth Rosen, a Chronicle editorial writer, is the author of ''The World Split Open: How the Modern Women's Movement Changed America.''

©2000 San Francisco Chronicle

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