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Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism
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Sales rank 36,195
Customers rating (based on 46 reviews)
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The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize outlines his vision for a new business model that combines the power of free markets with the quest for a more humane world--and tells the inspiring stories of companies that are doing this work today. In the last two decades, free markets have swept the globe, bringing with them enormous potential for positive change. But traditional capitalism cannot solve problems like inequality and poverty, because it is hampered by a narrow view of human nature in which people are one-dimensional beings concerned only with profit. In fact, human beings have many other drives and passions, including the spiritual, the social, and the altruistic. Welcome to the world of social business, where the creative vision of the entrepreneur is applied to today's most serious problems: feeding the poor, housing the homeless, healing the sick, and protecting the planet. Creating a World Without Poverty tells the stories of some of the earliest examples of social businesses, including Yunus's own Grameen Bank. It reveals the next phase in a hopeful economic and social revolution that is already under way--and in the worldwide effort to eliminate poverty by unleashing the productive energy of ever human being.
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| Publisher | PublicAffairs | | Release date | 01/2008 | | Availability | Usually ships in 24 hours | | Edition | |
| | List price | $26 | | Our price | $17.16 (you save 34.00%) | | Used price | from $2 |
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A plausible model to bring about positive social change.
Professor Yunus describes an intriguing concept of social business where investors are entitled to a return on investment but not additional dividends. The idea behind a social business is that management will be measured by a social mandate rather than a profit maximization mandate. The model for social business is the Grameen bank which Professor Yunus founded as "Banker to the Poor" in Bangladesh winning the Nobel Peace Prize. The successful social business model could be adapted to solve problems around the world including poverty, hunger, disease, etc. Whether a fan or foe of the concept of social enterprise, reading the inspired thoughts of Professor Yunus is worth the investment of time for anyone with a sense of intellectual curiosity.
Spread the Word
Most creative concept that is truly workable. Had an idea for Mr. Yunus: What would he think about embarking on a "tutoring seminar" to help spread the word?
This could be geared to the successful large businesses in the major cities. The purpose would be to teach how the principles of "social business" could be adapted to various kinds of business for various kinds of purposes.
The project could expand to internet tutoring.
This might work on a "donation" concept instaed of charging a fee for the tutoring.
As I see it, right now only (mostly) those involved are aware of the concept, and it needs to have a fire built under it!
Respectfully submitted
"Bunny"
 Good Book, Little Utopian
I liked this book and I greatly admire Muhammad Yunus for his work throughout Bangladesh and other locales throughout the world. His idea is generally sound that the Western world's attitude towards the poor is misguided because the poor do have something great to offer this world and may not need the well intended training programs and clearly gigantic aid checks to dubious governments haven't done much to free people throughout the world from poverty. Therefore, we should give the poor tools they need to free themselves from poverty like Yunus banks have. However, the end of the book where he is talking about a world without war, poverty, and equal access for everyone to basic things we often take for granted in the Western world made me pause and actually prevented this from being a five star book.
Damn me as cynical if you must, but a world without war is a utopian dream that is not going to come about through social business because war is on its' face a human endeavor and human beings are imperfect and fallible. I think it would be great if no child had to die of a disease we could prevent, but I think overall although social business is a good idea it's overrated because you'd need so many social businesses dedicated to poverty relief, medicine and immunization, and other enterprises that the capitalist system would have to die out instead of co-existing with the social business models. I don't quite see how the profit-making enterprises and social enterprises would co-exist.
The New Economics
Yunus is definitely changing our point of view about world economics. In his book (on what I have read so far) he gives a lot of clues about how modern capitalism can help on improving the life quality of the poorest people. As always, his model shocks with the standard beliefs about money and economics, but gives an inspiring message about helping others without falling into assistentialism.
Good written and useful.
Very Inspiring Book!
Muhummad Yunus is a genius. He came up with practical solutions to reduce and hopefully eliminate poverty. These are to encourage the establishments of banks that lend the poor; and establish Social Businesses that will provide products and services to help improve the standards of living of the poor. Hopefully these two solutions will help reduce global poverty if they became widespreads, since it seems they have achieved excellent results in Bangladesh.
I was amazed with the Grameen Danone company that was established in Bangladesh, which represents a joint venture between Grameen Bank and the French Dairy Company "Danone". It was very inspiring to study such a company that provided cheap food products to the poor children in Bangladesh that helped improve their nutrition and health.
Muhammad Yunus inspired us with this wonderful book. He sure deserves to receive the Nobel prize and I hope Social Businesses and Banks to the poor spread globally. Poverty is harsh, sad, and painful. It is time for the rich people to do something about it. Establishment of more Social Businesses would be an excellent step forward.
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