Has our venerable professor of economics, the famous founder of the one of its kind Grameen Bank, the recipient of Nobel Peace Prize, the initiator of Social Business movement that is now knocking at the door of most of the Fortune 500 companies suddenly turned into a mathematician?
Not really. He spoke of his “Three Zeros” formulation yesterday to a packed house of 1,600 guests with 250 delegates from 30 countries, on the occasion of the 6th Social Business Day at the BICC.
He elaborated how a “Three Zeros” action plan will save the world for our future generation. His ideas, as always, are simple. He said that the world must adopt a policy of: a) zero poverty; b) zero unemployment; and, c) zero carbon emission. Only then would the world have a sustainable development. Any other plan will not be sustainable.
To achieve his “Three Zeros” plan, he said, we needed four things: 1. Harness the energy and creativity of the youth; 2. Use the power of technology; 3. Transform business into Social Business; and, 4. Ensure good governance.
He believes that there is practically nothing that the young cannot achieve. Their “can do” spirit is the biggest asset for the world especially for Bangladesh. The youth will have to be energised, given freedom of action, sufficient support and guidance and they will do the rest. We must believe in our youth, he kept on emphasising.
About technology, he said that the world is changing at an unbelievable rate and all of it is coming from technological innovation. But this technology is in the hands of the rich who are using it to further enrich themselves.
The same technology, if used to solve the problems of the world — poverty, unemployment, environmental degradation, population management, etc., then the world will become transformed. The immediate task should be to use the magnificent innovations of science and technology to trigger “sustainable growth” and not to increase rich-poor gap and all sorts of discrimination.
Social Business is the real business, the rest are a distortion. His view that a business only based on avarice, greed, acquisitive instinct, self interest, etc. is only half the story. There is a far better and glorious “other half” story that remains totally ignored and untold in the present day capitalist narrative of human nature.
Human beings are much more complex and “bigger”, and filled with many other qualities such as love, empathy, fellow feeling, idealism, nobility and capacity for sacrifice. Present day capitalism has successfully produced enormous wealth for which it must be appreciated. But in the process, and by concentrating only on greed related aspects of human nature, our civilisation has perverted the “core human person”.
While producing wealth on the basis of “personal interest” alone and delinking him or her from the fundamental fact that “a human being is a social animal” with a conscious or subconscious desire to produce “social good”, the present capitalistic production system has negatively impacted the human psyche making him or her detached from natural instincts and feelings.
Finally, it is good governance that brings all the above together. Everything that has been said above can be achieved only if a society is based on the rule of law, democracy, fundamental rights, gender equality, accountable and transparent governance process. It is only in an environment of good governance that Social Business can thrive.
It is perhaps a bit audacious on my part to comment that Prof Yunus’ ideas have come a long way. While his microfinance sharply focused on the issues of poverty, especially that of women, his ideas of Social Business encompass the whole society — rich and poor, man and woman, big and small, black or white, developed or developing, etc. So, while microfinance was a development issue, Social Business is a “civilisational” issue. It asks the crucial question whether our civilisation — as it now operates, produces, consumes, allocates resources, makes laws, dispenses justice, discriminates between the rich and the poor, allows poverty and unemployment to exist, and, most crucially, as it now recklessly and unthinkingly exploits nature — is sustainable?
“The answer my friend is blowing in the wind”.
On a lighter note, the 6th Social Business Summit began with a message from Sharon Stone, yes, the world famous film actress, sending her love and best wishes to Prof Yunus, his team and all those involved in Social Business. Bill Clinton, the one and only, in a video message on the occasion of Social Business Day, which also coincides with Prof Yunus’ birthday, said of him “your life is a gift to humanity” and wished him many more years of dedicated service to change the world and make it a better place.
But the most enjoyable video greetings came from a Chinese village where housewives remembered Yunus’ visit last year and said “Please come again with more ideas to help us, as we are still following what you said the last time”. However what won everybody’s heart in yesterday’s gathering and led to spontaneous applause was Chinese kids asking Yunus, “Grand pa, when will you come again”.
Source: The Daily Star