A citizen's commitment to the country could amount to anything. It could be by finding political voice against a rampaging civic administration, exercising our vote or even encouraging private enterprise that deals with social inequities as a business and not through charity.

We live in a country that demands so little from our citizens.The least we can do is perform our civic duty. Only then can we make fortune at the bottom of the pyramid. Societies have always searched for an ideology and an institutional framework to balance collective and private interests. In the last century this struggle played out as a confrontation between two clearly defined ideologies - communism and capitalism.

Capitalism may have grown, but capitalists themselves have started re-examining how to adopt themselves to the 21st Century. Capitalism is built on a few key principles -- entrepreneurship, innovation, investment and organisation are at the heart of capitalism. Investors,who finance the ideas of entrepreneurs to create business,deserve the benefit with returns commensurate with risks. Private property and the rule of law are paramount in such a system. Private enterprise,in a system of transparent transactions,can benefit consumers and provide incentives for business. Capitalism is usually associated with participative democracy. No one really questions these basic problems any longer. The practice of capitalism,however,has not been without problems,and must adopt itself to address these issues. Does capitalism short-change consumers, employees, suppliers and communities? Does it care about the poor and the disadvantaged?

Recently Bill Gates suggested that we should focus on creative capitalism that explicitly recognises the four billion poor and develops market-based solutions to help them.Capitalism can provide economically viable solution to social problems than engage in partisan debates.The debate must focus on solutions,not ideology.The focus should be on dealing with social inequalities as a business and not through make shift arrangements.Profitable business usually grow and sustain themselves.

Without a long-term,self-sustaining solution that reduces poverty,we are likely to create higher levels of inequality. No institution is an island. Private sector institutions are an integral part of society and cannot prosper without reorganising the social context within which they operate.India represents a unique opportunity for developing the practice of capitalism for the 21st century. It has a vibrant private sector and a participatory democracy.It also has inequalities,not just in incomes but also in terms of opportunities. If a country can find a way to make capitalism work by addressing problems of poverty illiteracy,inequalities,disease and subsistence agriculture while creating new opportunities for the poor and oppressed and vibrant business at the same time, the consequence are tremendous. A new nation can be built only with a fresh work ethic which combines discipline with creativity, passion with respect