According to Tim Jackson, many of us are caught in a cycle of “spending money we don’t have on things we don’t need to create impressions that don’t last on people we don’t care about.” He’s proposing that we build a new kind of economic system, one that nurtures humanity’s altruistic qualities and the ecological assets of our world.

Founder of Kiva, Jessica Jackley, wants us to help others in a way that validates their ambitions and promotes respect, hope and optimism. She’s launching Profounder so that small businesses can raise money from unaccredited investors (also known as ordinary people). She thinks that believing in each other is what will make tomorrow better than today.

Labor-rights activist Auret Van Heerden didn’t come to depress us about the state of the global supply chain, but wants to know who takes responsibility when human rights are abused? The consumer, the company, the country? He says we can all make the decision to pick up the ball.

Sanjayan Muttulingam was always led to believe that saving nature was a province for the rich. Now he knows it’s really up to the local people to decide what they want for their environment.

Peter Eigen of Transparency International says that corruption lies at the root of many major global issues, and that it leaves world leaders helpless in the face of great disasters. His organization is currently working with 31 different countries to end the cycle.