We are living in a phenomenal age. If we can spend the early decades of the 21st century finding approaches that meet the needs of the poor in ways that generate profits and recognition for business, we will have found a sustainable way to reduce poverty in the world. This task is open-ended. It can never be finished. But a passionate effort to answer this challenge will help change the world.
This is the final moment of a speech Bill Gates gave back in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. I found it via a post on the Freakonomics Blog @ the NYT.
This speech is making my mind explode.
The first thing that struck me was his description of himself as an “impatient optimist”, as someone who believes in the good of the world but also sees the opportunity and ability to make the good even better.
I’d like to think of myself in the same light.
More importantly though, I was struck by his empassioned and specific descriptions of how we could move towards a model of “creative capitalism’ as a means of addressing the mass inequities in wealth without underminding the system of capitalism which encourages innovation improving our lives daily.
I’m still reeling a bit so my thoughts aren’t yet fully formed - but moments like this … the five minutes after reading an article or speech that truly shifts your thoughts to a new level (even if momentarily)… this is when i want to chant “life life life life” and really do life even better.
Bill Gates - Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
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