The stalemate at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Seattle, Washington, lent itself to multiple interpretations. Some see it as a turning point in the tug-of-war between profit on the one hand and people and Mother Earth on the other. We argue that Seattle has to be viewed through the lenses of 20th-century history, especially the end of the Cold War. This epochal conjuncture unleashed previously suppressed distributional conflicts and institutional dogmatism combined with the growing affluence of some middle-income countries, which will further reshape the global market economy. 'Procedural fairness', the guiding principle behind the WTO, must begin to share the spotlight with concern for a fairer distribution of gains and a global safety net. Finally, how deep into local institutions procedural fairness should be allowed to penetrate is a problem that is highlighted even as it begs for a solution.