YUNUS
ONE-PAGER DEBATES (EARLY DRAFT), 24 NOVEMBER 2007
Intended 2008 use among 1000 readers of CREATING A WORLD WITHOUT
POVERTY
- Social Business & Future of Capitalism, Muhammad Yunus
Please help improve this catalogue and collaboratively debrief
us on your citizen actions.
What is good (win-win-win) global?
Mistakes made by Development Program Economics
Sustainability Crises: Climate, Energy, Agriculture
Capitalism has become a half-developed structure
Seeing what a SOCIAL BUSINESS is - and is not
Visioning & Realising The Bank for the Poor
Poverty - Citizens Alert
SOCIAL BUSINESS 2.0
Poverty & Democracy 2.0
World 2050 : Wish-list
Social Action Forum - will Yunus & You create a worldwide
happening?
Chris Macrae info@worldcitizen.tv - currently checking how book
publisher feels about citizen rights to start these urgent rehearsals
for human sustainability.
Book is launched January 2008. Publisher web
Yunus1000 prep space at facebook http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=7179856845
Grouping around entrepreneurial revolutionary new Social ABCD
at facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=20352561800
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WHAT IS GOOD (WIN-WIN-WIN) GLOBAL? Yunus p.5
In a world where the ideology of free enterprise has no real
challenger, why have free markets failed so many people? As
some nations march towards ever greater prosperity, why has
so much of the world been left behind? The reason is simple.
Unfettered markets in their current form are not meant to solve
social problems, and instead may actually exacerbate poverty,
disease, corruption, crime and inequality
I support the idea of globalization -that free markets should
expand beyond national borders, allowing trade among nations
and a continuing flow of capital, and with governments wooing
international companies by offering them business facilities,
operating conveniences and tax and regulatory advantages. Globalization,
as a general business principle, can bring more benefits to
the poor than any other alternative. But without proper oversight
and guidelines, globalization has the potential to be highly
destructive. Global trade is like a hundred-lane highway criss-crossing
the world. If it is a free-for-all high way, with no stoplights,
speed limits, size restrictions or even lane-markers its surface
will be taken over by the giant trucks from the world's most
powerful economies. Small vehicles will be forced off the highway.
In order to have win-win globalization, we must have fair traffic
laws, traffic signals and traffic police . The rule of the "strongest
takes all" must be replaced by rules that ensure the poorest
have a place on the highway. Otherwise the global market falls
under the control of financial imperialism
Are any of these answers to the above problem?
?Government? page 6
?Non-Profit Organisations? Page 9
?Multilateral Development Institutions - eg world bank, international
finance corporation, 3 regional development banks of Africa,
Asia, Caribbean page 11
?Corporate Social Responsibility? Page 12
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
MISTAKES MADE BY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ECONOMICS -p52
1 Programs addressed to children should not be looked upon as
"humanitarian" or "charitable". If poverty
is to be reduced or eliminated, the next generation must be
our focus. We must prepare them to peel off the signs and stigmas
of poverty, and instill in them a sense of human dignity and
hope for the future. Thus children focused programs are prime
development ones - no less so than building an airport, factory
or highway.
2 Development strategies focus too much on material accumulation
and achievement. Instead the focus needs to be shifted to human
beings, their initiative and enterprise. The first and foremost
task of development is to turn on the engine of creativity inside
each person. Any program that merely meets the physical needs
of a poor person or even provides a job is not a true development
program unless it leads to the unfolding of his or her creative
energy.
3 Standard definition of economic development misses out on
true contextual sustainability. Economic development should
not be measured solely by income per capita, consumption per
capita or anything per capita. The essence of development is
changing the quality of life for the bottom half of the population.
And that quality is not to be defined just by the size of the
consumption basket or the range of choices offered to a person
alone. It must also include the enabling environment that lets
individuals explore their own creative potential. This is more
important than any mere measure of income or consumption. (So
it is that microcredit turns on the economic engines among the
rejected population of society. Once a large number of these
engines start working, the stage is set for big things.)
Exercise: Can you think of other blindspots of classical development
economics?
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SUSTAINABILITY CRISES: CLIMATE, ENERGY, AGRICULTURE (PAGE 191
ON)
People around the world are beginning to see global warming
as a serious problem. In wealthy nations the concerns of people
are genuine but for the most part immediate responses are centered
on threats to property or income, not life itself. In Bangladesh,
the situation is more immediate: global warming is a threat
to our very lives and livelihoods. In this respect, the troubles
of Bangladesh represent those of the entire developing world.
Problems ranging from climate change and water shortages to
industrial pollution and high-priced energy, which are mere
nuisances to people in the global North, pose life and death
difficulties in the global South.
If the vast ice fields of Greenland continue to melt, global
ocean levels will rise and start covering the world's low-lying
land masses including Bangladesh. The scale of the human crisis
will include devastating reductions in rice harvests, terrible
loss of life, and a flood of refugees that could dwarf previous
mass migrations. Whilst we Bangladeshi's can do a lot to fight
poverty on our own, solving the global warming crisis will require
a united effort by all the peoples of the world. If this effort
is not mounted soon, I'm afraid that all our work to alleviate
poverty and improve life for the world's poorest will be in
vain.
To understand what must be done to solve the crisis before it
devastates the world, we must understand its roots in economics,
social and political circumstances, and human nature. In the
decades since World War 2, the world economy has been growing
at an unprecedented pace. This is a good thing in most ways.
The wealth generated by new technologies, liberated markets
and increased trade has improved the standard of living for
hundreds of millions of people in the developed nations. It
has also begun the process of lifting hundreds of million more
out of poverty in the developing world. However, non-renewable
resources are rapidly becoming depleted as the demand for them
increases exponentially. Fuels, hardwoods, fish , potable water
and many other essential commodities are becoming increasingly
scarce. Moreover, industrial style agriculture as practiced
in the United States degrades the soil and is in the long run
unsustainable.
Thus in the form of capitalism under which most of the world
is currently organised , there is an unhealthy connection between
the environment and economic growth. The bigger the world economy,
the bigger the threat to planet Earth - and in the long run
to the survival of our species. In general, the higher the level
of income in a country, the higher the contribution to the world's
environmental risks.
It seems clear that the imbalance in resource use between rich
and poor nations is neither just nor sustainable. Unfortunately,
the principle response by those in power has been to seek ways
to consolidate and retain that power. Governments in the developed
nations consider it their mandate to make sure they control
the world's most vital resources, no matter where these resources
are found. They work hand in glove with big companies operating
in the developing countries to make sure the availability continues
uninterrupted. And when control over resources is being negotiated
among corporate leaders, trade representatives and global diplomats,
these major companies bring to the table their own financial
power as well as the political and military power wielded by
their home governments. It's no accident that certain regions
of the world that are resource-rich have long been centres of
political, miltary and economic intrigue as leaders of the rich
nations vie for long-term control of the resources.
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CAPITALISM HAS BECOME A HALF-DEVELOPED STRUCTURE -P14
Capitalism takes a narrow view of human nature, assuming that
people are one-dimensional beings concerned only with the pursuit
of maximum profit. Today's concept of the free market is based
on one-dimensional human being. It postulates that you are contributing
to the society and the world in the best possible manner if
you just concentrate on getting te most for yourself. When believers
in this theory see gloomy news on television, they should begin
to wonder whether pursuit of profit is a cure-all but they usually
dismiss their doubts, blaming all the bad things in the world
on "market failures". They have trained their minds
to believe that well-functioning markets simply cannot produce
unpleasant results.
I believe there is a much deeper problem. Today's free-market
theory suffers from a "conceptualisation failure",
a failure to capture the essence of what it is to be human.
Conventional business theory has created a one-dimensional human
being to play the role of business leader. We've insulated him
from the rest of life: the religious, emotional, political and
social. He is dedicated to one mission only - maximise profit.
He is supported by other one-dimensional human beings who give
him their money to achieve that mission. To quotte Oscar Wilde,
they know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Our economic theory has created a one-dimensional world peopled
by those who devote themselves to the game whose victory is
measured only by profit. And since we are persuaded by the theory
that pursuit of profit is best way to bring happiness to humankind,
we imitate the theory striving to transform ourselves into one-dimensional
human beings. Today's world is so mesmerised by the success
of capitalism that it does not dare doubt the system's underlying
theory.
Yet the reality is very different from the theory. People are
not one dimensional entities: they are excitingly multidimensional.
Their emotions, beliefs, priorities and behaviour patterns can
best be compared with the millions of shades we can produce
from the three primary colours. Even the most famous capitalists
have a wide range of interests and drives which is why tycoons
like Carnegie or Bill Gates ultimately turn away from the game
of profit to focus on higher objectives.
The presence of our multi-dimensional personalities means that
not every business should be bound to serve the single objective
of profit maximisation. This is where the new concept of social
business comes in.
Exercise: How would you map organisational system of a social
business
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SEEING WHAT A SOCIAL BUSINESS IS AND IS NOT -PAGE 17
To make today's half-developed structure of capitalism complete
we need to introduce another kind of business -one that recognises
the multi-dimensional nature of human beings. Entrepreneurs
of social businesses design organisational systems not for limited
personal gain but to pursue broad social goals
How
can the products or services sold by a social business provide
a social benefit. There are countless ways. For a few examples,
imagine:
A social business that manufactures and sells high-quality nutritious
food products at very low prices to a targeted market of poor
and underfed children
A social business that designs and markets health insurance
policies that provide affordable medical care to the poor
A social business that develops renewable-energy systems and
sells them at reasonable prices to rural communities that otherwise
can't afford access to energy
A social business that recycles garbage, sewage, and other waste
products that would otherwise generate pollution in poor or
politically powerless neighbourhoods
In
its organisational structure, the social business is basically
the same as a for-profit business. But it differs in objectives.
Like other businesses it employs workers, creates goods or services,
and provides thee to customers for a fair price. But its underlying
criterion by which it should be evaluated- is to create social
benefits for those whose lives it touches. The company itself
may earn a profit, but investors who support it do not take
any profits out of the company. A social business is a company
that is cause-driven rather than profit-driven, with the potential
to act as a change agent for the world.
A
social business is very different from a charity. It is a business
in every sense. When you are running a business you think differently
and work differently than when you are running a charity. There
are many organisations in the world today that concentrate on
creating a social benefit. Most do not recover their operating
costs. Nonprofit organisations and NGOs rely on charitable donations,
foundation grants, or government support. Their leaders are
forced to devote a lot of their time and energy to asking for
money, a form of fund raising that focuses on institutional
survival rather than expanding the benefits they can offer to
those in need.
A
social business is different. Operated in accordance with sound
business principles, it aims for full cost recovery or even
more as it concentrates on creating products and services that
provide a social benefit. It pursues this goal by charging a
price or fee for the products or services it creates.
A
social-objective-driven product that charges a price or fee
for its product but cannot cover its costs fully does not qualify
as a social business. As long as it has to rely on subsidies
and donations to cover its losses, it remains in the category
of a charity. But once such a project achieves full cost recovery
on a sustainable basis it graduates into another world - the
world of business. Only then can it be called a social business.
The achievement of full-cost recovery is a moment worth celebrating.
A
social business differs from a charity in another important
way. It has owners. A social business doesn't pay profits to
investors but it does pay back to investors all of the money
they invested. How long would that take. That is up to the management
and investors. Also once the investors are repaid, they remain
part owners of the social business with a say in its future.
Businesspeople find this an exciting opportunity not only to
bring money to a social business but to leverage their own business
skill and creativity to solve social problems. That's a very
exciting prospect.
(p218)
Philanthropists of the future will be strongly drawn to social
business. Major donors who come from the business world will
immediately understand that the social business dollar is much
more powerful than the charity dollar. Whereas the charity dollar
can be used only once, the social business dollar recycles itself
again and again to deliver benefits to more and more people.
If I had been an adviser to Warren Buffett, I might have suggested
he use part of his money to create a social business whose mission
would be to provide affordable high quality health insurance
to the 47 million Americans without it. If Buffett - a business
genius with decades of experience in the insurance industry
- were involved in designing this social business, it is hard
to imagine how the new company could fail.
Exercise: if you know of cases of social businesses, we'd love
to hear of them at info@worldcitizen.tv with a view to sharing
among fellow users of these scripts
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
VISIONING
& REALISING THE BANK FOR THE POOR
Banking for the poor is not just about financial services- we
must set a strong social agenda... This is the how and why of
Grameen Bank (page 54)
No
one who borrows from Grameen Bank stands alone. Each belongs
to a self-made group of five friends, no two of whom may be
related. When one of the five friends want to take out a loan,
she needs approval from the remaining four. Although each borrower
is responsible for her own loan, the group functions as a small
social network that provides encouragement, psychological support,
and at times practical assistance in bearing the unfamiliar
burden of debt and steering the individual member through the
unfamiliar world of "business".
Neither
does each group of five stand alone. Ten to twelve groups come
together in a weekly meeting in a centre, which is a simple
hut like structure. There are 130,000 centres around the country
serving Grameen members. At the weekly meeting, loan repayments
are collected by the local branch officer, applications for
new loans are submitted, and various inspirational, instructional
and practical activities are undertaken from discussions about
new business ideas to presentations about health or financial
topics. The centre leadership is elected democratically. The
community oriented dynamic of Grameen bank is an important reason
for the success of our system.
Our
social agenda is supported through the 16 Decisions. This is
a set of social and personal commitments that evolved during
our first decade. By 1984, they had become an integral part
of the Grameen program. Every new member of the bank is expected
to learn the 16 decisions and to pledge to follow them.
1
Grameen's 4 principles - discipline, unity, courage and hard
work - we shall follow and advance in all walks of our lives
2 We shall bring prosperity to our families
3 We shall not live in dilapidated houses.
4 We shall grow vegetables all the year round. We shall eat
plenty of them and sell the surplus.
5 During the plantation season, we will plant as many seedlings
as possible.
6 We shall plan to keep our families small. We shall minimise
our expenditures. We shall look after our health.
7 We shall educate our children and ensure that they can earn
to pay for their education
8 We shall always keep our children and the environment clean
9 We shall build and use pit latrines
10 We shall boil water before using or use alum to purify it.
We shall use pitcher filters to remove arsenic.
11 We shall not take any dowry at our sons' weddings or give
any dowry in our daughters' weddings. We shall not practice
child marriage
12 We shall not inflict injustice or anyone; neither shall we
allow anyone to do so.
13 For higher income we shall collectively undertake bigger
investments.
14 We shall always be ready to help each other. If anyone is
in difficulty, we shall all help
15 If we come to know of any breach of discipline in any centre,
we shall all go there and help restore discipline
16 We shall take part in all social activities collectively.
Because
of the 16 decisions, Grameen borrowers have taken great care
to send their children to school. Virtually every Grameen family
has all of its school age children attending school regularly
- quite an achievement for borrowers who were mostly illiterate.
The spread of education to an entire generation of rural Bangladeshi
has been a dramatic historical breakthrough.
The
success of Grameen bank has grown from our willingness to recognise
and honor human motivations and incentives that transcend the
purely economic. Human beings are not just workers, consumers
or even entrepreneurs. They are also parents, children, friends
neighbours and citizens. They worry about their families, care
about the communities where they live, and think a lot about
their reputations and relationships with others. For traditional
bankers, these human concerns don't exist. But they are at the
heart of what makes Grameen Bank successful. The credit we offer
is a tool for reshaping lives, and neither we bankers nor our
borrowers ever lose sight of that reality.
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
POVERTY
- CITIZENS ALERT (p 104-108)
For too long people in developed nations have taken a fatalistic
attitude towards poverty. Poverty doesn't only condemn humans
to lives of difficulty and unhappiness, it can expose them to
life-threatening dangers. Because poverty denies people any
semblance of control over their own destiny, it is the ultimate
denial of human rights. When freedom of speech or religion is
violated in this country or that, global protest are often mobilised
in response. Yet when poverty violates the rights of half the
world's population, most of us turn our heads away.
Traditionally the poor have been looked upon as a social liability.
Policies and institutions have grown up with this in mind. As
a result the capacity of the poor to make productive contributions
on their own behalf and to benefit the entire society has rarely
been recognized. Once we recognise this capacity we can create
programs that will support and make use of the creative gifts
of the poor.
Many
anti-poverty efforts are funded by well-intentioned people in
the developed countries either through government grants, NGOs
or international aid agencies. It is sad to see how much of
this money is being invested in ways that are wasteful. In many
cases money that is supposed to help the poor ends up creating
businesses for companies in the developed world - training firms,
consultants, and the like. In other cases its finds its way
into corrupt local governments or elite social groups. Those
in the developed world who want to reach out to the poor should
make a political commitment to build solidarity with the bottom
half of the population in the developing countries , especially
the women among them. Taxpayers in developing countries should
make it plain to their aid officials and legislative representatives
that they want their money to go directly toward the reduction
of poverty through the support of the productive capacities
of poor people themselves
Prioritization
of those in need is also important. Not only should the non-poor
be excluded from an anti-poverty program, but the poorest and
very poor should have higher priority than the less poor. One
of the ways that many aid programs fail is by allowing resources
to be diverted to unintended people. The most effective anti-poverty
programs are purpose-built programs specifically tailored to
the needs of the poor, not general projects serving society.
Programs to build infrastructure, provide health-care or offer
job training may be fine things. But experience shows that unless
they specifically target the poor, the non-poor will eventually
receive the lion's share of the benefits, leaving the poor as
badly off as ever , or perhaps even worse so.
(p219)
When we look back at human history, it is clear that we get
what we want - or what we fail to refuse. If we are not achieving
something, it is because we have not put our minds to it. We
are accepting psychological limitations that prevent us from
doing what we claim we want. At the moment, we accept the idea
that we will always have poor people among us, that poverty
is part of human destiny. The fact that we accept this notion
is precisely why we continue to have the poor. If we firmly
believe that poverty is unacceptable -that it should have no
place in a civilised human society - then we will build appropriate
institutions and policies to create a poverty-free world.
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SOCIAL
BUSINESS 2.0 - IT Revolution (page 184)
My dream is of a world in which technology is harnessed to create
a better life for everyone, not just the wealthy few. So far,
it's been largely profit-obsessive corporations who decide the
uses to which technology is put...When it comes to the new IT
, "business as usual is not acceptable". The emerging
technologies are so overwhelmingly important in shaping our
future lives that we cannot leave the development of tomorrow's
IT to the board-room decisions of big business alone. Instead
"social business" must step up to take an important
role in creating the next generation of IT.
I
see individuals as the best bet for starting this effort, particularly
individuals who are IT enthusiasts and have a foothold in the
worlds of business, technology, science, the arts and academia.
There are thousands of brilliant idealistic people like this
around the world who would like to devote their time, energy,
and talent to finding ways of using It to help poor people escape
poverty. It itself can bring these individuals together , using
the internet to build a strong global force of people dedicated
to applying the power on information to the world's most serious
social problems.
I
propose giving this movement a structure by creating an umbrella
organisation to embody and support it. Let's call it ISEP -
Information Solutions Ending Poverty.
How
will ISEP get started? Any individual, group can start it by
presenting a mission statement on the web and asking others
to join in the network. Once it starts rolling there might be
a conference (virtual or real) to build a leadership team, and
to establish an entity that can accept funds and present the
network to the public.
ISEP
will probably have a group of paid staff as well as volunteers
and interns devoted to the network's programs. However, its
true legitimacy and authority will come from its membership
-high-powered imaginative people and organisations who are committed
to contributing their talents to designing, developing, testing,
implementing and marketing IT solutions for the poor.
The money to create ISEP certainly exists. What is needed is
a focus on IT for the poor, the will to establish a worldwide
network of people devoted to that focus, and the visionary leadership
of a few strong individuals to drive the process.
I could make a long list of projects that ISEP members could
spearhead. Here are a few:
ISEP could generate ready to apply social business ideas for
using It to bring services to the poor as well as to take products
and services from the poor to the broader market. ISEP could
also publish these ideas as widely as possible.
ISEP members could develop prototypes for IT infrastucture and
info systems for anti-poverty programs and services anywhere
in the world
ISEP members could study the interface between the informational
needs of the poor (especially those related to their productivity
at work) and existing IT capabilities, and then proactively
create applications or system needed to better serve the poor
ISEP could identify IT infrastructure imperatives for the delivery
of education, helath care, good governance, and legal services
to the poor, and providing consulting services to governments,
NGOs and businesses that are interested in producing te necessary
infrastructure
ISEP could create informational networks based on geographical
area, causes and correlates of poverty (agriculture, product
marketing, health, education, legal , women, children, destitute,
indigenous people and so on).
ISEP will be a dynamic network of institutions and persons around
the globe, all working toward common goals as articulated, defined
and monitored by a steering team. I am hoping that somewhere
in the world someone reading this book will accept the challenge
of launching this ISEP initiative around the world
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
POVERTY
& DEMOCRACY 2.0 p187
It's most important impact may be on the political realm - since
the elimination of global poverty can never truly evolve until
the poor take their rightful place as fully empowered citizens
of free societies.
Unfortunately,
the political process in many countries has been very frustrating
to say the least. Investing huge sums of money to buy government
offices, manipulating the media to create false images of candidates,
and dirty tricks designed to smear opponents or even steal elections
have become all too common. In some countries, units of the
armed forces or private militias have seized control of the
mechanisms of government. All too often "people power"
http://peoplepower.jp seems to have disappeared from politics
replaced my money power, muscle power or even firepower.
We
see these troubles with democracy in some of the world's largest
countries including USA and Russia. Similar problems exist in
Bangladesh, where political corruption, distortion of the very
purpose of governance, and self-dealing have been rampant.
As a result of the problems with democracy, people around the
world are losing faith in the political process. Young people
especially have been turning apolitical, rejecting a system
they regard as hopelessly compromised. In this climate, politicians
feel driven to consolidate their power by stoking hatred between
citizens, ethnic groups. Religions and nations. When citizens
are forced to confront their own governments in an antagonistic
way or must struggle to surmount needless barriers built by
the state just to live productive lives, then neither freedom
nor enterprise can flourish.
Yet
democracy is the best political framework we have to unleash
the creative energy of the people, particularly the young. Today,
the new IT offers a powerful tool in support of real democracy.
Information s power. This is why governments that seek to rule
over people instead of serve them are so eager to maintain their
control over information. By making such centralized control
far more difficult , the new IT, especially the internet, creates
enormous obstacles for would-be tyrants.
Thanks
to the internet, a single individual can now speak to the whole
world without the control f any intermediary. This makes IT
a powerful amplifier of the voices of the people, especially
minority groups, the poor, and the geographically isolated.
It also reduces the costs in time, energy and money of communicating
with a large number of people.
IT
can give voice to the voiceless, eyes to the politically blind,
ears to the politically deaf. It is a reason why governments,
businesses, NGOs and ordinary citizens need to join forces to
make sure that the power of technology is put within reach of
everyone in the world -including the poorest among us, who need
its help the most
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WORLD
2050 : WISHLIST (page 213)
Today's rapid pace of change makes it crucial that we, as individual
citizens, have a clear idea as to where we want our world to
go. If we hope to find and stay on the right course, we must
agree on the basic features of the world we want to create.
And we must think big, as big as we dare imagine- lest we waste
the unprecedented opportunities that the world is offering us.
Let us dream the wildest possible dreams and then pursue them.
Here is my wish list for the world I would like to see emerge
by 2050. How many of these dreams do you share?
Poverty will be gone. Every country will have its poverty museum,
and the global poverty museum will be located in the last country
to eradicate poverty completely
All
people will be global citizens of equal status.
War will be obsolete; Nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass
destruction will have been eliminated.
So called incurable diseases from cancer to AIDS, will have
been eradicated. Disease will be a rare phenomenon subject to
immediate treatment. High quality healthcare will be available
to everyone, and both infant mortality and maternal mortality
will be things of the past.
A first rate global education system will be available to all
from anywhere in the world. All children will experience the
excitement of learning, and will grow up as caring individuals
dedicated to the wellbeing of others as well as themselves.
Each
person will have the full opportunity to explore the limits
of his or her potential, regardless of gender, race, nationality,
religion or family heritage. People from all nations and backgrounds
will have a fair chance to participate in te great adventures
of te human species and to expand the horizons oh human knowledge
and creativity.
A global government will resolve conflicts between nations and
regions, secure the quality of life of all people, and ensure
the environment is protected.
The political system will allow every citizen of the world to
participate in collective decision-making while minimising interference
by the state in individual activities.
The global economic system will encourage individuals, businesses
and institutions to share their prosperity and participate actively
in bringing prosperity to others, making income inequality an
irrelevant issue. "unemployment" and "welfare"
will be unheard of.
All people will be committed to maintaining a sustainable lifestyle.
Sun, water and wind will be the main sources of power.
Humans will be able to forecast earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones
and other natural disasters precisely, and in time to minimise
damage and loss of life
Free wireless connections will facilitate communication among
peoples anywhere in the world. Language barriers will be eliminated
on the internet etc through simultaneous translation software
There will be no discrimination of any kind, whether based on
race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, political
belief, language, culture or any other factor
All cultures, ethnic groups and religions will flourish to their
full beauty and creativity, contributing to the magnificent
unified orchestra of human society.
The
process of imagining a future world of our liking is a major
missing element in our educational system. We don't prepare
out students to think as individuals about what kind of world
they would like to create Each student could explain to the
class why he wants the things he wants. Other students may endorse
his ideas, offer better alternatives or challenge him. Then
the students will go n to discuss how to create the better world
they imagine, what they can do to make it happen, what the barriers
are, and how partnerships and organsizations can be created
to promote the goal. The course would be fun, and more important,
it would be a great preparation for an exciting journey
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SOCIAL
ACTION FORUM - WILL YUNUS & YOU CREATE A WORLDWIDE HAPPENING?
Having a dream about a better world is fun. Why not interact
to help make the reality closer too? My suggestion: create a
small organisation we call a Social Action Forum. It can be
as small as three people who band together to address a single,
manageable local problem. If others want to join that's fine.
But if you feel comfortable with three, don't try to expand
that number
I
am planning to create a website where you can register your
social action forum. On the website, you can describe your plan
for the year, record you thoughts, mention the frustrations
and excitement of your work, show the progress you are making,
and display pictures relating to your project. To start a Forum
-all you need is the willingness and initiative to make a difference.
You
might start a forum around a neighbourhood improvement. Or if
you live in a developing country, the action forum might be
built around helping a beggar find a job or self-employment.
Some social action forums may remain small, operate for 2 or
3 years and then disband. Others may grow bigger and bigger,
and some may become successful businesses.. An idea from one
forum may inspire other forums to replicate the idea. A few
forums may grow into major programs with the potential to transform
societies.
Aside
from launching a Social Action Forum, there are may steps that
individuals can take to help promote the social-business idea.
If you are a teacher, you could help launch a course to teach
young business people about social business. If you are a member
of a civic or faith group, you could help arrange a series of
lectures, meetings or conferences about opportunities for social
businesses in your community. If you help to oversee a pension
fund, you can propose that part of those resources be set aside
to invest in social business. And of course, if you are a business
executive, you can explain to your CEO the value of creating
a social business.
One
way to generate social business ideas is to host competitions.
Any organisation or person can sponsor such a competition: a
school, a foundation, a chamber of commerce, a civic group and
so on. I can picture local, regional and even global competitions
with hundreds of thousands of participants vying to create the
most practical, ambitious and exciting concepts for social business.
Prizes for the best business designs could include investment
funding for the project, or connections to social investors.
All the proposals submitted could be published on the internet
to inspire the designers of subsequent competitions or to provide
ideas for entrepreneurs who want to start social businesses.
I
have been promoting the idea of a social-business competition
for a while, and now the Taiwanese magazine Business Weekly
has announced such a competition. It has raised $1.5 million
to provide seed money for the top 10 submissions, which
will be announced November 2007. I am absolutely delighted
by this initiative.
