Lech Wałęsa, former President of Poland, leader of the solidarity movement and general bad-ass, didn't exactly fit in with the crowd here at the Intel CEO Summit in San Francisco. He didn't talk about new media, green technology or the IPO market -- but he won a standing ovation from attendees, all the same.
In an hour-long talk, which was translated by an interpreter, Wałęsa waxed philosophical on globalization and the rise of technology.
Among his more colorful/pointed remarks: "Capitalism is not a good system," he said, "but the point is, nobody's come up with a better system."
He also expressed concern that too much of the world's wealth is concentrated in too few hands -- he thinks we need to at least triple the number of property owners.
But bringing the conversation back to technology,Wałęsa envisioned a future in which international disputes are settled by machines, which sort through data provided on "CD-ROMs."
