Environmental degradation. Poverty and malnutrition. Disease and illiteracy. As the world's human population skyrockets and resources grow scarce, the multinational corporation with its ability to mobilize massive human and capital resources across geopolitical boundaries may be mankind's best defense against an onslaught of social ills. Many companies have already joined the fray, launching ambitious global corporate citizenship programs designed to improve the quality of life in the communities and nations in which they operate. Their activities, the focus of this groundbreaking work, are precursors to a new age of enlightened capitalism, and their bold break with tradition is putting them now, more than ever, in the public eye."