I will be attending a conference in Aspen, Colorado June 28-30 called Fortune: Brainstorm. It is put on by Fortune Magazine every two years with the goal of bringing global leaders together to create a better future. What impresses me most about the conference is the attendee list, which is a select invite only group of CEOs, politicians, and world leaders. To prepare for the conference, Fortune has asked each participant to prepare an answer to three questions. I thought I would post my responses here:

1. If the collective might of Brainstorm could be channeled to solve one problem, what should it be and why?

I believe that there is no greater problem in our world today than that which is represented by the two following simple facts--that 2.7 billion citizens of our world live on under US$2 per day and that 18 million people die each year from starvation and preventable diseases like malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, and measles. This is nearly 50,000 unnecessary deaths each and every day. These deaths occur with very little media coverage and without most Americans even being aware such suffering exists. I truly believe it will be the great challenge of my generation to figure out how to substantially reduce absolute poverty in developing nations and create a world that provides the opportunity for all human beings to have a chance to improve their socio-economic status, break out of poverty, reach their full human potential, and live a meaningful and productive life. I strongly believe that the majority of the world’s poor do not resent the developed world, but rather resent not having a pathway to join the developed world themselves. From a national and world security standpoint, working to provide this pathway is perhaps the most imperative project that we can undertake.

2. What do you fear most?

During the 20th century there was a great deal of sacrifice, suffering, and effort of many millions of courageous men and women to build the legal, financial, business, and governmental institutions and systems that provide the platform for us today to have high standards of living and have real opportunity to better our world. The potential we have today as members of a strong open society is great. It is my greatest fear that this great potential could be, in a matter of hours, destroyed by the use of a nuclear weapon. The destructive forces of a small group with powerful concentrated weapons could remove the progress of many decades. This scares me.

3. What three global leaders will have the greatest impact in setting the course for the next decade?

- Gordon Brown, United Kingdom
- Hu Jintao, China
- The next U.S. President