For those invested in creating a viable, sustainable, inclusive economic alternative to the current dysfunctional status quo, a must read is Muhammad Yunus’s latest book A World of Three Zeros.
Dr. Yunus, a native of Bangladesh, economics professor and founder of Grameen Bank is regarded as the father of modern microcredit. From humble beginnings in the mid-70s, Grameen Bank’s successful evolution into an economic engine for the poor and empowerment of women sparked a global explosion of microlending institutions based on Yunus’s model. Collectively, microcredit has helped millions of families in over 100 countries raise themselves from poverty. For his contribution to alleviating poverty Dr. Yunus received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.
In A World of Three Zeros Yunus shares his vision for transforming the current confiscatory world economic system into one which equitably distributes global wealth by recognizing, promoting and celebrating a “…new assumption that all people are born entrepreneurs, packed with unlimited creative abilities”. A key vehicle Yunus proposes for this economic transition is another of his inventions – the “social business” – which harnesses the power of altruism in place of self-interest to pursue the goals of zero poverty, zero unemployment and zero net carbon emissions. This book is a practical guide as to how we can achieve these goals.
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Don Gordon is a financial planner living in Victoria BC.