Creating a World Without Poverty:
Social Business and the Future of
Capitalism by Muhammad Yunus
Future Of Social Capitalism
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 todays 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 Yunuss 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.
Personal Review: Creating a World Without Poverty: Social
Business and the Future of Capitalism by Muhammad Yunus
That which was most important for me in this book is, that the writer gives
voice to a vision that he has held close to his heart for presumably
decades. It is the vision of a poverty free world.
Building on the impact of the 2006 Nobel recognition of the enormous
effort over half a lifetime, involving the several Grameen institutions, he
spells out his long held vision of a world, "where poverty is relegated to the
museums of the world". In this book, he makes a strong case for how this

goal is fully realizable with our present day resources and why work on this
particular project should be given high priority, so that everybody has a fair
chance to achieve their highest potential. Further, the reader is extolled to
come forward with her/his own vision of the future, so that the best of all
worlds can come together and serve as a beacon for even further
progress.
A basic building block of this vision is the concept of a social business. It is
a business that pays no dividends. Products are sold at prices which make
them self sustaining and all profits stay in the organization and used to
finance expansion, create new products or services, and, in general,
benefit society at large. To this effect, the author recounts how the concept
of the social business was first tested with the collaboration of the
Grameen in Bangladesh with the French Danone concern to produce a
yoghurt called "Shokti Doi", a product designed to provide proper
nourishment to children living in poverty.
The author provides a detailed account of the various ramifications of the
Grameen organizations, and there are many, healthcare, telecom services,
information technology, education and textiles, to name a few. In his
conclusion, the author gives a detailed discussion of how his ideas on
microcredit have been implemented all over the world and the benefits and
pitfalls that have resulted in their wake. A chapter on the "hazards of
prosperity" in developed countries with welfare is also included.
For me, a novice, the book has been a joy to read. One feels tremendous
respect for the man, his creativity, his scholarship, and above all, his
superhuman self confidence in refusing to accept financial help from
funding agencies and go his own way, despite intense pressure from the
government. This man is an institution by himself and that sheen of aura
surrounds this book, the very theme of a professor of economics who
shows hardened bankers and heads of financial institutions where to put
their money is just too good to be true. Then, of course, there are the
genuine experts, who may have genuine disagreements with some of the
concepts put forward.
I strongly recommend the book if only to open up a window to a wide vista
of possibilities.
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