Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - “The Virtuous Cycle”
Brief, well-designed, and very impactful short narrated by Bill Gates that was played at the recent G20 summit. It holds a number of important truths.
Innovation. Each individual person, the US as a nation, and the entire world at large really only has one long-term solution to global economic woes: We must innovate our way out. I would hazard a guess that we are already in the early stages of our next major age of innovation, spurred by the foundations and information networks provided by the rise of the internet. Now we need to create. Where is the next cotton gin, Model T, or television? For the first time ever, we can collaborate with our fellow Earthicans instantaneously. What are we making? More than sweat shop sneakers, I hope.
Good begets good. The Japan/Brazil/Mozambique example discussed in the short is a great story, and incredible support for those of the “expand the pie” mindset (rather than “take their slice”). The more information and opportunities flow through the economic channels of the world, the more we will see them grow and return in new ways. By helping developing nations with education, running small businesses, and establishing new industries, developed countries can forge important partnerships that are beneficial to all. Developed nations may even observe new innovations or ways of doing things that spring forth during these initial stages of economic development.
Keep moving forward. Things will never be what they’ve always been, and that’s been true every day since the beginning of time. We need to embrace the turns of the global tides that have already begun and figure out what’s next. But there is one important benefit in this era that humanity has never had before: the whole world is in this together.
30-Day Challenge #16
