“A Kinder Form Of Capitalism Can Save The World” and “A Little Rip-Off Won’t Hurt”
“We have to find a way to make the aspects of capitalism that serve wealthier people serve poorer people as well”. “This kind of contribution is even more powerful than giving cash or offering employees time off to volunteer. It is a focused use of what your company does best”
Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, last night called for a new version of global capitalism that delivered benefits to the poor as well as the rich. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the software entrepreneur and one of the world’s richest men said there was a need for “a creative capitalism” that would use market forces to address the needs of the world’s poorest countries.
“We have to find a way to make the aspects of capitalism that serve wealthier people serve poorer people as well,” Gates said in a keynote address. “The world is getting better in many crucial ways,” Gates said. “I’m an optimist but I’m an impatient optimist. Things are not getting better fast enough and they are not getting better for everyone.”
The speech to top businessmen and politicians at the World Economic Forum reflected Gates’s growing focus on philanthropy. Gates built Microsoft into a formidable and sometimes controversial money machine, which has been accused in the past of abusing its market position.
He will retire from full-time employment at the Seattle-based group at the end of June to concentrate on his charitable organisation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates insisted that this was not dumping the basic tenets of capitalism but argued market forces must be better used to address the needs of those left behind by advances in technology and healthcare.
Last night’s speech coincided with an announcement by Microsoft and the computer company Dell that they were joining the Red campaign - a scheme under which multinational companies give a slice of the proceeds to the Global Fund for fighting HIV/Aids. Dell and Microsoft will give between $50 and $80 for Red-branded computers installed with Windows software, which I personally think is a complete rip-off, as these RED cost $300 more over the regular XPS Ones. You do get the extra as Office Home or Student 2007 and Vista Ultimate. It makes much more sense to save those $300 and just give some cash directly (in some countries this will also help to bring down your taxes). BTW, this is exactly where open source and free software will fit nicely.
Check out the following article from the Wallstreet Journal: Bill Gates Issues Call For Kinder Capitalism
It all sounds very right and correct … but only when it is done for the only purpose, that is to alleviate poverty and cause of getting rid of diseases. Don’t get me wrong, Gates indeed has done, and continues to help society through his charity and others, unlike “WallMart family” members for instance. But don’t we all know that there is always a sense of business. You ask yourself how Capitalism, with capital C, can be kind”er”.
January 28th, 2008 at 12:48 am
[...] I also wrote about this yesterday, a small post discussing what Gates had [...]
March 13th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
There is a way to help others and make money doing so. This is I believe what true capitalism is all about. However, in my opion, most companies are not capabitlist but protectionist in their thinking. More collaboration and sharing is what is needed.