Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism

Have you ever pondered why the raw capitalism prescribed by Adam Smith that became successful in raising the standard of living at the early stages of its development, lost it's steam after a certain phase? Why it leads to staggering inequality of income, destruction of the environment and social injustice? In this book, Nobel Laureate Dr. Yunus suggests the reason is in the basic flaw in the assumption of Adam Smith, that man is a one dimensional being, his only motive in the world is to maximize the profit. If profit maximization is the only yardstick of the success of a business, why should the corporations care about other factors like social responsibility, sustainability or social justice? Dr. Yunus, in this book, proposes another model of business, which he calls Social Business. In this business model, the goal is not profit maximization, but a specific social benefit, for example, providing nutrition among the population. The social business is not a charity, because, it returns the original investment back to the investor. But, it reinvests the profits back to the business to maximize its social goal. Dr.Yunus is not an ivory tower economist, but a very down-to-earth pragmatist, who has founded a score of Social Businesses in his own country Bangladesh and other underdeveloped parts of the world. As a result of his work, millions of people have come out of poverty. In this book, he also explains the concept of micro-finance, a small amount of money, usually less than hundred dollars lent to the poor people, who can then use this money for running a small business. This generates income and help them rise above the poverty level. According to Dr. Yunus, the poor people always pay back the money. After reading the book, I have become interested in investing some money in micro-finance. If you like the idea check out [...]or similar micro-finance sites. A small amount of your money may make a huge difference in people's lives and you get your original money back. Dr. Yunus writes in simple, lucid language. The book will engage you and definitely enrich your world view. If you have time to read just one book this year, I would suggest this one.

Creating a World Without Poverty should be read by everyone who is concerned about helping the poor and those whose needs are ignored. If I could give this book one hundred stars, I would; that would still be too few. Books have the potential to advance and create discussions about ideas, concepts, and practices that can reform everything we do in needed directions. Creating a World Without Poverty is one of the few books I've ever read that fulfills that potential. Professor Yunus (co-winner with the Grameen Bank of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2006) has written an extremely thoughtful and thought-provoking work that successfully argues for a new type of organization to serve the unserved among the poor, the social business. A social business seeks to optimize social benefits rather than profits. In defining its purpose, a social business begins by defining a social need that wouldn't otherwise be served. Profits are kept at the minimum level needed to keep the enterprise viable. Ideally, no dividends are paid to owners. The original investors get a return of their capital, and then the organization is purchased by the poor . . . using microcredit from organizations like the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. The Grameen Bank is a model for such an enterprise, and in the book Professor Yunus describes several other ventures that the Grameen Bank has initiated with partners steeped in expertise related to the needs of the poor. Professor Yunus describes his experiences in founding the Grameen Bank and the lessons he learned from this work: 1. The poor are very capable of solving problems -- survival needs have honed their skills. 2. Poor people often need very few resources to pull themselves out of poverty. They are used to making do with little and will frugally expand a small farm or business. 3. Many poor people are poor because they are exploited by those who loan them money, provide supplies, and purchase their offerings. By providing inexpensive microcredit, poor people can escape from that exploitation. 4. By helping the whole family make progress, you can lift a family out of poverty permanently through more income, savings, capital, improved living conditions, and education. 5. By focusing on helping poor women, the resources are used most effectively. 6. Poor women are good credit risks. 7. Some needs cannot be met without adding expertise that the poor don't have (such as developing more nutritional, low-cost snacks for youngsters) but which those in profit-making companies often do have. 8. Some leaders of profit-making companies are moved to make a difference for the poor and can assist in establishing new enterprises to solve important problems that plague the poor (blindness, malnutrition, and lack of communications). 9. Creating social businesses uses a lot fewer resources than charity or government initiatives and leads to better results for the poor. The book goes into some detail in describing th

What a wonderful and uplifting book. Personally, I hate what corporate america has become...bent on making all the money that they can and keeping it for themselves. Mr. Yunus tells of how the make all the money you can approach makes people one dimensional instead of what we really are, multi-dimensional. The number one measure of a business should not be how much money it makes, but how much it has benefited society. Mr. Yunus does a good job at explaining exactly what he means by a Social Business and gives real life examples. He is realistic by understanding that money is what makes the economy go around, but has a better way of using all that money out there. Companies like Intel and the makers of Danon Yogart have recently dedicated some of their resources to being a Social Business. I recommend this book for everyone. I am developing my own online business and plan on running it in a Social Business way. Thank you Mr. Yunus.

This is one of those books that is so worth your time and money. Don't confuse the authors suggestion that with wise planning and micro loans which he won the Nobel Prize for, we will make the world a place where everyone owns a car, lives in a big house and is as materialistic as we Americans. No. What he writes about is how we can make it so that every person and their family can have the basics of human life and dignity so they lack for none of the necessities of life. Like clean water, decent housing and health care, and educational choices so they are literate and able to do better where they live. Its why I donate to groups like Heifer International which brings meaning to the adage that if you give a fish to a person they eat for a day but if your teach them how to fish they will eat for a lifetime. I also like the challenges to big business to stop using people and giving them things they don't need which are unhealthy, but have am ethical corporate mindset where you strive to help people have clean water, food and none of the inferior goods that sadly we Americans are known for.

The author has proven that capitalism, if it accepts a social conscince out of self-preservation, can eventually develop a world where poverty is on the decline. Yunus is one of the most deserving of recipients of the Nobel Prize. He has been recognized by many, including former president Bill Clinton, as a financial reformer of very high order. The author is not a reving socialist but a reasonable person who believes the responsibility of every individual is to leave the world a better place for those to whom we will leave it. Instead of depending entirely on charity to combat poverty and ease the suffering of those who don't have the material benefits needed for survival, they should be given an oportunity to make their own way in the community. This is a book that should be carefully read by every person who is interested in a more secure world, in easing human suffering, in providing opportunity to every individual to meet his or her potential, and certainly every politician world wide who has the courage to do what is right and not just politically expedient. I have given this book five stars. In the past many others have gotten this rating, and this is the most deserving.