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If Bill Gates Ran the World

“Plato imagined philosopher-kings guarding his utopia. Here in Aspen, we have Bill Gates.” The Atlantic says Gates’ unique solutions to global problems were on display at the Aspen Ideas Festival.
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“Plato imagined philosopher-kings guarding his utopia. Here in Aspen, we have Bill Gates.” The Atlantic says Gates’ unique solutions to global problems were on display at the Aspen Ideas Festival. “Whether the topic was education, global health, or American competitiveness, Gates thought in data and searched for leverage. Relative to our actual political leaders, he showed astonishing clarity about the structural issues facing this country, and yet his ideas about them did not seem partisan. It was seductive to think — and Gates would probably have the gumption to take the job — that if you made Bill Gates king of the world, he’d make it a better place.”

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