How to fix capitalismIn these tough times, its easy to forget that during the past century, the world has gotten better. But billions have not been able to benefit from capitalisms miracle. Heres how to help them.Capitalism has improved the lives of billions of people-something thats easy to forget at a time of great economic uncertainty. But it has left out billions more, they have great needs, but they cant express those needs in ways that matter to markets. So they are stuck in poverty, suffer from preventable diseases and never have a chance to make the most of their lives. Governments and nonprofit groups have an irreplaceable role in helping them, but it will take too long if they try to do it alone.It is mainly corporations that have the skills to make technological innovations work for the poor. To make the most of those skills, we need a more creative capitalism : an attempt to stretch the reach of market forces so that more companies can benefit from doing work that makes more people better off.Theres much still to be done, but the good news is that creative capitalism is already with us. Some corporations have identified brand-new markets among the poor for life-changing technologies like cell phone. Others-sometimes with a nudge from activistshave seen how they can do good and do well at the same time.To take a real-world example, a few years ago I was sitting in a bar with Bono, and frankly, I thought he was a little nuts. It was late, wed had a few drinks, and Bono was all fired up over a scheme to get companies to help tackle global poverty and disease. He kept dialing the private numbers of top executives and thrusting his cell phone at me to hear their sleepy yet enthusiastic replies, As crazy as it seemed that night, Bonos persistence soon gave birth to the (RED) campaign. Today companies like Gap, Hallmark and Dell sell (RED) branded products and donate a portion of their profit to fight AIDS. (Microsoft recently signed up too.) Its a great thing : the companies make a difference while adding to their bottom line, consumers get to show their support for a good cause, andmost importantlives are saved. In the past year and a half, (RED) has generated $100 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, helping put nearly 80,000 people in poor countries on lifesaving drugs and helping more than 1.6 million get tested for HIV. Thats creative capitalism at work. Creative capitalism isnt some big new economic theory. And it isnt a knock on capitalism itself. It is a way to answer a vital question : How can we most effectively spread the benefits of capitalism and the huge improvements in quality of life it can provide to people who have been left out?The world is Getting Better It might seem strange to talk about creative capitalism when we are paying such high gas prices and many people having trouble paying their mortgages. Theres no doubt that todays economic troubles are real; people feel them deeply, and they deserve immediate attention.Creative capitalism isnt an answer to the relatively short-term ups and downs of the economic cycle. Its a response to the longer-term fact that too many people are missing out on a historic, century-long improvement in the quality of life.In many nations, life expectancy has grown dramatically in the past 100 years. More people vote in elections, express their views and enjoy economic freedom than ever before. Even with all the problems we face today, we are at a high point of human well-being. The world is getting a lot better. The problem is, Its not getting better fast enough, and its not getting better for everyone. One billion people live on less than a dollar a day. They dont have enough nutritious food, clean water or electricity. The amazing innovations that have made many lives so much betterlike vaccines and microchipshave largely passed them by. This is where government and nonprofits come in. As I see it, there are two great forces of human nature: self-interest and nesses self-interest in a helpful and sustainable way but only on behalf of those who can pay. Government aid and philanthropy channel our caring for those who cant pay. And the world will make lasting progress on the big inequities that remainproblems like AIDS, poverty and educationonly if governments and nonprofits do their part by giving more aid and more effective aid. But the improvements will happen faster and last longer if we can channel market forces, including innovation thats tailored to the needs of the poorest, to complement what governments and nonprofits do. We need a system that draws in innovators and businesses in a far better way than we do today.Naturally, if companies are going to get more involved, they need to earn some kind of return. This is the heart of creative capitalism. Its not just about doing more corporate philanthropy or asking companies to be more virtuous. Its about giving them a r