Where you don't have that degree of honesty and genuine meritocracy, standards fall and then performance falls because there is no incentive for the best people to strive to raise the standard. I think that matters in companies as well as countries and I think 't clear that it is that sort of honest, open meritocracy at all levels of society which is most needed in some of the places around the world where it is hardest to do business. I'm thinking, for instance, of the countries which used to live under communism, a system which was probably the polar opposite of meritocracy. Earlier today I gave a talk on environmental issues. There are real environmental challenges, including climate change, which are unproven but where there is mounting evidence of serious problems.
Denial is the wrong response.
But so too is despair, because there are many things we can do. Technology is moving on, and so thanks to globalization is the spread of knowledge. There is no place better than Stanford to understand the potential of technical progress and the momentum for change which can be created when you link the drive of business with path-breaking scientific research. That Ink has been at the heart of economic and social progress for the last three hundred years. The continuing progress of technology and knowledge means that we don't have to accept a trade off between economic growth and a clean environment.