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4th out of 65 books
—
22 voters
Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism
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 pa...more
Hardcover, 296 pages
Published
January 8th 2008
by PublicAffairs
(first published 1999)
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Excellent book. Yunus is an inspiring man. I know nothing about economics yet I was able to understand this book, and it has helped me clarify for myself what kind of business I would like to run someday - a social business.
Basically, it presents a new model for social services - building organizations that do good work without relying on grants that may or may not be there from year to year, and which have as their chief goal to become self-sustaining. Their goal is to make money, but not maxi...more
Basically, it presents a new model for social services - building organizations that do good work without relying on grants that may or may not be there from year to year, and which have as their chief goal to become self-sustaining. Their goal is to make money, but not maxi...more
PROS: Absolutely and awesomely (in the truest form of the word) inspiring as it details a possible and successful venture into social business. The drive, focus, motivation, and innovation is very much appreciated and a great stimulus for anyone ready to consider taking on altruistic endeavors. Seeing just how much impact one person, and all of the wonderful people he came across and worked with, can impact the world it truly refreshing.
CONS: The detail on Mr. Yunus’s specific journey is quite a...more
CONS: The detail on Mr. Yunus’s specific journey is quite a...more
This was very interesting. Yunus brings forth the idea of running a sustainable business for the express benefit of society, rather than shareholders. The main principle of the book is that, instead of running a business as a profit-maximizing business, a business could be run (he doesn't go as far as to say that all businesses _should_ be run this way, which is probably a smart move) as a social-benefit-maximizing business. Investors would get no dividends or return on their money, they would j...more
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If there were more people like Muhammad Yunus, then maybe his goal of stamping out poverty by 2050 will be achieved — hell, maybe he’ll be able to get Bangladesh there all on his own at the rate that he’s going.
In “Creating A World Without Poverty,”, Yunus talks about social businesses and the future of capitalism.
In this book, he talks about how, as Grameen Bank became more and more deeply rooted in the social conditions of the poor in Bangladesh, its mandate evolved and broadened as Yunus and...more
In “Creating A World Without Poverty,”, Yunus talks about social businesses and the future of capitalism.
In this book, he talks about how, as Grameen Bank became more and more deeply rooted in the social conditions of the poor in Bangladesh, its mandate evolved and broadened as Yunus and...more
If you wanted to test an idea that would help poor people rise out of poverty, Bangladesh would be the perfect place to start. That is what Muhammed Yunus did with his concept of social business. A social business is a business whose sole purpose is to alleviate the suffering and deprivation of poor people. It operates on basic business principles but does not have the purpose of returning value to shareholders, but rather addressing the needs of the poor. It is different than a socially respons...more
If you have ever wondered about the ability of third world countries to help their citizens move out of poverty, this book is for you! Yunus is an inspiring man who started Grameen Bank in the eighties, a forerunner of many of the microlending institutions that now exist (Kiva being the most famous one in American philanthropy circles). The premise of this book: that everyone in the world in poverty can move themselves out of poverty through the model of microlending and social enterprise is tru...more
Voulez vous savoir comment un "simple" professeur d'économie dans une université au Bangladesh peut transformer le monde des pauvres ? Alors lisez ce livre !
Muhammad Yunus prix Nobel de la paix en 2006, et sa fondation Grameen (qui signifie "la banque des villages") ont bouleversé la vie des centaines de millions de familles dans le monde entier. En donnant des micro-crédit à des femmes très pauvres au Bangladesh, Grameen a réussi à montrer qu'un système de prêt sans garanties est possible, sur...more
Muhammad Yunus prix Nobel de la paix en 2006, et sa fondation Grameen (qui signifie "la banque des villages") ont bouleversé la vie des centaines de millions de familles dans le monde entier. En donnant des micro-crédit à des femmes très pauvres au Bangladesh, Grameen a réussi à montrer qu'un système de prêt sans garanties est possible, sur...more
Novemu kapitalizmu naproti
str. 13- šlo je za impulziven odziv in ne za neki natančno načrtovan predlog, kakršne ima večina vodilnih ljudi najraje. Toda z leti sem ugotovil, da so se nekateri moji najlepši projekti začeli prav na ta način - ne na osnovi strogih analiz in načrtovanja, temveč zaradi spontanega vzgiba, ki mi je govoril "zdaj imaš možnost storiti nekaj dobrega".
str. 21!22- svetovno trgovino je mogoče primerjati s stopasovno avtocesto, ki se prepleta po vsej površini zemeljsko oble. Č...more
str. 13- šlo je za impulziven odziv in ne za neki natančno načrtovan predlog, kakršne ima večina vodilnih ljudi najraje. Toda z leti sem ugotovil, da so se nekateri moji najlepši projekti začeli prav na ta način - ne na osnovi strogih analiz in načrtovanja, temveč zaradi spontanega vzgiba, ki mi je govoril "zdaj imaš možnost storiti nekaj dobrega".
str. 21!22- svetovno trgovino je mogoče primerjati s stopasovno avtocesto, ki se prepleta po vsej površini zemeljsko oble. Č...more
"dato che il capitalismo è un sistema incompleto, bisogna integrarlo introducendo un nuovo tipo d'impresa che tenga nel giusto conto la natura multidimensionale degli esseri umani. se le attuali imprese capitalistiche possono chiamarsi aziende orientate al profitto, allora il nuovo tipo d'impresa può chiamarsi impresa con finalità sociali, e gli imprenditori che daranno vita a questo nuovo tipo d'impresa non seguiranno egoistiche mire di profitto personale, ma ben precisi obiettivi sociali"
muham...more
muham...more
Without doubt, Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism is an inspiring book.
I did not have a specific expectation of the book, when I started it - having known about the Grameen initiative and its activities. I started reading this book as a part of a course that I am doing (required reading). In reading the book, however, many ideas, thoughts and guiding philosophies came to the fore. It is quite revealing about how the idea of micro-credit has worked, the...more
I did not have a specific expectation of the book, when I started it - having known about the Grameen initiative and its activities. I started reading this book as a part of a course that I am doing (required reading). In reading the book, however, many ideas, thoughts and guiding philosophies came to the fore. It is quite revealing about how the idea of micro-credit has worked, the...more
Aug 09, 2011
Matthew
added it
Had he a time machine, Muhammad Yunus could have prevented the death of over a billion people by counseling Karl Marx on Capitalism's power to truly transform the world, eliminate poverty, and raise people by their own bootstraps out of despair and into self reliance.
Yunus's vision, followed completely, would do just that. I believe this gentleman from Bangladesh could be one of the most important figures of the 21st century, whose ideas could have deep impact on even the 22nd century, and beyon...more
Yunus's vision, followed completely, would do just that. I believe this gentleman from Bangladesh could be one of the most important figures of the 21st century, whose ideas could have deep impact on even the 22nd century, and beyon...more
This book has several 5 star ideas, but ultimately is too long in it's prose. Dr. Yunus , Nobel Prize winner, describes his concept of a "Social Business" in this book. A social business operates exactly as a for profit entity, but has social goals rather than a goal of maximizing profit. To facilitate this all investors agree to receive only their original capital back after which the business pays no further dividends and reinvests all its' profits into it's social goals. I find this an intrig...more
Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus has become my hero & a role model now. He rightly proved in reality that social business could indeed exploit capitalism to help create better lives of poor.
A prologue of good handshake, Yunus starts with free-market economics, globalization and economic boom in countries, then makes a deep dive that neoliberalism in fact creates better upper half leaving the rest in sheer poverty, then questions whether govt is the answer for reformation or is it NGOs or multil...more
A prologue of good handshake, Yunus starts with free-market economics, globalization and economic boom in countries, then makes a deep dive that neoliberalism in fact creates better upper half leaving the rest in sheer poverty, then questions whether govt is the answer for reformation or is it NGOs or multil...more
Read this actually a few months ago, but was reminded of it from a tweet this morning. The book is solid. A good idea, well-described, in language a non-economist can understand. Yunus is looking to bridge the innovation and efficiency of for-profit business with the social-improvement mission of the non-profit sector. I say: It's about freaking time!! No, business models can't solve everything (but you can expect Yunus to think so as a Nobel Winning Ecnomist and founder of the Grameen Bank), bu...more
Dunia tanpa kemiskinan adalah sebuah kemustahilan, tetapi dunia tanpa problem kemiskinan adalah sebuah keniscayaan. Muhammad Yunus dalam buku ini, sama seperti buku-bukunya yang lain, memberi solusi-solusi yang sangat masuk akal untuk mengatasi berbagai permasalahan kemiskinan dan kemelaratan itu.
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call me a cynic but i had to keep from rolling my eyes in reading this book. muhammad yanus is a reincarnation of mother teresa herself. really innovative (albeit a little naive) ideas of how to eliminate property, and a how-to primer on social business. recommended...with a grain of salt.
The idea was good. Instead of a corperation with the intent of making a profit, make a corporation with the intent of doing good and being self-sufficient. Both would still compete in the same markets for the money of the users, but instead of reporting to share holders who care only about "the bottom line," these shareholders would also be invested in the idea of providing clean water, bringing people out of poverty, etc.
The book though, was horrible. Maybe its how all business books are writte...more
The book though, was horrible. Maybe its how all business books are writte...more
Muhammad Yunus and his work are really amazing. Reading about the different Grameen businesses really overwhelmed me and made me wonder where on earth do I begin to start to achieve something even remotely close to that??! But it is inspiring and really makes you wanna stop sitting around and do something!
The book is rather academic though, like a thesis, so I had to skim through some parts which were overly informational/ argumentative. I didn't really need persuading about the benefit of soci...more
The book is rather academic though, like a thesis, so I had to skim through some parts which were overly informational/ argumentative. I didn't really need persuading about the benefit of soci...more
Amazing book about creating "social businesses" from Nobel Peace Prize winner Yunus. His ideas for changing the world are fascinating, lots of food for thought on other ways to look at structuring our business world while creating a better society.
If you have read "Bank to the Poor" there are parts of this you can skim/skip towards the beginning where he talks about the founding of Grameen Bank. I find his idea of social business (and his definition of it) interesting, and the idea of a wish list for social change interesting too.
Sometimes in the day-to-day grind of what you are doing at work, you sometimes lose sight of what the work is supposed to be getting you. I think you lose opportunities that way. Its important to keep your eye o...more
Sometimes in the day-to-day grind of what you are doing at work, you sometimes lose sight of what the work is supposed to be getting you. I think you lose opportunities that way. Its important to keep your eye o...more
Mohammad Yusuf flushes out the idea of something he calls a "social business," which is a business that does not seek profit maximization. Instead it strives to maximize its progress towards a specific set of development goals in a self sustaining way that does not require donations. Grameen Bank, the micro-lending company he founded, is a perfect example. The results speak for themselves, and he and Grameen Bank received a Nobel Peace Prize for their impact on poverty.
This is an exciting and t...more
This is an exciting and t...more
The idea of social enterprise experimented by Grameen and Prof. Yunus, as discussed in this book, has now evolved into a new genre in modern capitalism. Social business model suddenly undertone the failure of mainstream finance to showcase the best face of capitalism. In this model, companies have found new ways to stay alive, continue to make profit and reach out to new markets hitherto closed to them, ie. the bottom billion. The tricky part is balancing the profit motive with social intention...more
Promising and at the same time challenging. The book's by the '06 Nobel Peace Prize winner, and is all about the idea of dealing with social problems by having businesses that are not aimed at a profit, but at dealing with social problems. I got to hear him speak at a conference for a non-profit i worked for (http://www.microenterpriseworks.org/) and got turned onto the whole idea.
The concept holds tons of promise for the future in my book, and is spreading in various forms by the day (under va...more
The concept holds tons of promise for the future in my book, and is spreading in various forms by the day (under va...more
An amazing book, not so much from how it is written but from the sheer strength and innovation of the ideas that the author has used to lift thousands of people out of poverty without using charity.
Yunus was told that you can't lend money to the poor as they won't pay it back. He proves that with the right support, the poor are better at handling debt and turning it to profit than the Western world.
The ideas in this book blew me away and my life has not been the same since. I ma now determined t...more
Yunus was told that you can't lend money to the poor as they won't pay it back. He proves that with the right support, the poor are better at handling debt and turning it to profit than the Western world.
The ideas in this book blew me away and my life has not been the same since. I ma now determined t...more
Jul 28, 2011
Amanda
added it
I think his ideas could work in the United States, if we had a properly functioning government, to replace Social Security, food stamps, and other social programs in place right now. Why are people so afraid of a self sustaining charity? If we actually wanted to make a difference we'd take a long hard look at the way money is spent by our government, what is actually bought with that money, and who actually benefits from that exchange. If we could only put politics aside and try to make the best...more
Dec 03, 2008
Robert
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Robert by:
Beili Li
Shelves:
non-fiction,
humanitarian
This book has some really great ideas. He talks about Social Business from the aspect of helping the poor, but I felt it should have been extended into the environment. He does mention the environment, but does not talk as extensive as poverty. I understand that his specialty is poverty not environmental issues, but he obviously is concerned with the earth as a whole and working to make the world better for future generations. Anyone who is concerned with social issues should read this book, whi...more
I kinda blew through this one and then called it "done."
I was mostly interested in a non-Christian's motivations for helping the poor. This book is mostly about the "how" not the "why" and focuses on Yunus' Nobel-Peace-Prize-winning work with social-business and micro-finance, which is, of course, highly commendable. I did not find a satisfactory answer to the question of why business should be called upon to be socially conscious. From either a Christian standpoint or a secular one. Also, I'm...more
I was mostly interested in a non-Christian's motivations for helping the poor. This book is mostly about the "how" not the "why" and focuses on Yunus' Nobel-Peace-Prize-winning work with social-business and micro-finance, which is, of course, highly commendable. I did not find a satisfactory answer to the question of why business should be called upon to be socially conscious. From either a Christian standpoint or a secular one. Also, I'm...more
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Aug 13, 2009
Ime'... Imelda
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
pelangi-s-library
The reason why I’d reading this book was actually to learn about the microcredit itself; the mechanism, how it works and others related. Well, I do learn a little bit about the microcredit, but I learned more about poverty and how private sectors could actually contribute to the poverty itself.
I learned a little bit about social business which I actually think that it is a great idea, yet I’m quite pessimistic whether such concept can be applied to all companies in the world. They would probably...more
I learned a little bit about social business which I actually think that it is a great idea, yet I’m quite pessimistic whether such concept can be applied to all companies in the world. They would probably...more
Excellent book. I saw one less than stellar review and she sounded like a jaded b*tch who doesn't see the potential society has for progress beyond its own selfish means. Even if Yunus' hopes are far reaching, I don't think they are impossible when you see everything he's done. And with the people he helps, they will continue to spread this hope for a world without poverty and one with peace.... at this rate, with the economy tanking, we may all need his expertise one day and be vulnerable enoug...more
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Muhammad Yunus has saved millions of people in Bangladesh from poverty by beginning a microcredit system there, improving educational, health, nutrtion, and agricultural practices, and teaching the people in one of the poorest countries in the world how to save money for emergencies, retirement, and school costs. If implemented through the world, his ideas could greatly reduce poverty and could save millions of lives. Mr. Yunus' ideas deserve study by college students and by anyone who would lik...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Want to discuss this book in San Francisco? | 1 | 13 | Mar 25, 2008 11:40pm |
Dr. Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi banker and economist. He previously was a professor of economics and is famous for his successful application of microcredit--the extension of small loans given to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. Dr. Yunus is also the founder of Grameen Bank. In 2006, Yunus and the bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts t...more
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“Once poverty is gone, we'll need to build museums to display its horrors to future generations. They'll wonder why poverty continued so long in human society - how a few people could live in luxury while billions dwelt in misery, deprivation and despair.”
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50 people liked it
“To me, the poor are like Bonsai trees. When you plant the best seed of the tallest tree in a six-inch deep flower pot, you get a perfect replica of the tallest tree, but it is only inches tall. There is nothing wrong with the seed you planted; only the soil-base you provided was inadequate.
Poor people are bonsai people. There is nothing wrong with their seeds. Only society never gave them a base to grow on.”
—
8 people liked it
More quotes…
Poor people are bonsai people. There is nothing wrong with their seeds. Only society never gave them a base to grow on.”
Aug 19, 2008 05:20am