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| Jan 19, 2008 10:46 pm |
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Muhammed Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize 2006, will be at Book Salon at 6:00 ET today |
Audrey Yoeckel
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This event is taking place in just a few minutes:
http://www.firedoglake.com
(That's 5:00 Central)
If you haven't joined Dani's new network yet, you should do so now. Crossposted over there:
http://truthseekerscast.ning.com/xn/detail/1978569:BlogPost:1441
In 1992, Rolling Stone sent William Greider, Hunter S. Thompson and P.J. O'Rourke to Little Rock, Ark., to interview presidential candidate Bill Clinton. This interview was crucial in burnishing Clinton's image as a policy wonk and New Democrat (that is, one who didn't automatically look to the state for social welfare programs). The symbol of Clinton's "coolness" was his enthusiasm for an obscure bank in Bangladesh that made microloans to poor people. Clinton had long been interested in Muhammad Yunus, the "Banker to the Poor" who started Grameen Bank in the '70s. Yunus believed that poverty could be broken by loaning very small sums to poor people who would invest productively — in, for instance, a sewing machine that could be used to set up a clothing business. Clinton had the prophetic hunch that something like this was needed; during his presidency, as the Cold War system of foreign aid dried up, others came to share his vision.
And so, since 1992, a lot has happened to Yunus and Grameen. The bank has set up a number of companies, ranging from a cell phone vendor that is now the largest business in Bangladesh to a yogurt manufacturer. And microlending enterprises have sprouted all over the globe; according to one survey, such institutions now reach 100 million families. And that was before Yunus and the bank gained even more fame by winning the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. (Statesman.com)
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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 every human being.
Muhammad Yunus, a native of Bangladesh, was educated at Dhaka University and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study economics at Vanderbilt University. In 1972 he became head of the economics department at Chittagong University. He is the founder and managing director of Grameen Bank, a pioneer of microcredit, an economic movement that has helped lift millions of families around the world out of poverty. Yunus and Grameen Bank are winners of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. (PublicAffairsBooks)
Private Reply to Audrey Yoeckel (new win) |
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