The case for inclusive capitalism: it is time for America's business leadership to more fully engage.

• Author: Robinson, James D., III

Two issues should be major additions to the agenda of every boardroom in America: How public trust in capitalism itself can be restored; and is America truly governable?

First, some relevant context is in order. The Conference Board recently summarized the growing interest among shareholders in including sustainability performance as part of compensation. Shareholders are placing growing emphasis on long-term performance, and corporate sustainability will be prominent in future proxies.

There are a number of leading companies that offer great examples of what sustainability performance looks like in practice. But for now, let's fast forward to look beyond proxies and compensation to the very essence of capitalism.

The capitalist system is the greatest engine for economic growth and individual prosperity the world has ever known. Since 1980, it has lifted over six hundred million people around the world out of poverty.

Yet a confluence of factors has led many people to question the workings of capitalism. Some even believe it is broken. Mary Meeker of the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers reports that 47 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds have a negative view of capitalism. Election night exit polls showed 54 percent of the electorate believes our economic system is unfair.

We all know the economic and jobs landscape has been dramatically altered as a result of globalization. A technology revolution has transformed how goods and services are bought and sold, robots and software have driven big productivity gains, and many jobs have become obsolete. Jobs requiring more and different skills and training are going unfilled.

Bad corporate behavior along with the financial crisis have alienated many people. Occupy Wall Street, the 99 percent, a shrinking of the middle class, and a perception that business puts profits ahead of the overall common good leave a pervasive feeling that the rich and successful don't really care about public issues beyond their own financial status.

Harvard economist Larry Katz paints a vivid picture: "Think of the American economy as a large apartment block. A century ago--even thirty years ago--it was the object of envy. But in the last generation its character has changed. The penthouses at the top keep getting larger and larger. The apartments in the middle are feeling more and more squeezed and the basement has flooded. To round it oft', the elevator is no longer working. That broken elevator is...