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A World of Three Zeros: The New Economics of Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment, and Zero Net Carbon Emissions
A winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and bestselling author of Banker to the Poor offers his vision of an emerging new economic system that can save humankind and the planet
Muhammad Yunus, who created microcredit, invented social business, and earned a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in alleviating poverty, is one of today's most trenchant social critics. Now he declares it's time to admit that the capitalist engine is broken--that in its current form it inevitably leads to rampant inequality, massive unemployment, and environmental destruction. We need a new economic system that unleashes altruism as a creative force just as powerful as self-interest.
Is this a pipe dream? Not at all. In the last decade, thousands of people and organizations have already embraced Yunus's vision of a new form of capitalism, launching innovative social businesses designed to serve human needs rather than accumulate wealth. They are bringing solar energy to millions of homes in Bangladesh; turning thousands of unemployed young people into entrepreneurs through equity investments; financing female-owned businesses in cities across the United States; bringing mobility, shelter, and other services to the rural poor in France; and creating a global support network to help young entrepreneurs launch their start-ups.
In A World of Three Zeros , Yunus describes the new civilization emerging from the economic experiments his work has helped to inspire. He explains how global companies like McCain, Renault, Essilor, and Danone got involved with this new economic model through their own social action groups, describes the ingenious new financial tools now funding social businesses, and sketches the legal and regulatory changes needed to jumpstart the next wave of socially driven innovations. And he invites young people, business and political leaders, and ordinary citizens to join the movement and help create the better world we all dream of.
Muhammad Yunus, who created microcredit, invented social business, and earned a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in alleviating poverty, is one of today's most trenchant social critics. Now he declares it's time to admit that the capitalist engine is broken--that in its current form it inevitably leads to rampant inequality, massive unemployment, and environmental destruction. We need a new economic system that unleashes altruism as a creative force just as powerful as self-interest.
Is this a pipe dream? Not at all. In the last decade, thousands of people and organizations have already embraced Yunus's vision of a new form of capitalism, launching innovative social businesses designed to serve human needs rather than accumulate wealth. They are bringing solar energy to millions of homes in Bangladesh; turning thousands of unemployed young people into entrepreneurs through equity investments; financing female-owned businesses in cities across the United States; bringing mobility, shelter, and other services to the rural poor in France; and creating a global support network to help young entrepreneurs launch their start-ups.
In A World of Three Zeros , Yunus describes the new civilization emerging from the economic experiments his work has helped to inspire. He explains how global companies like McCain, Renault, Essilor, and Danone got involved with this new economic model through their own social action groups, describes the ingenious new financial tools now funding social businesses, and sketches the legal and regulatory changes needed to jumpstart the next wave of socially driven innovations. And he invites young people, business and political leaders, and ordinary citizens to join the movement and help create the better world we all dream of.
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2017
498 people are currently reading
4572 people want to read
About the author
Muhammad Yunus
86 books507 followersDr. 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 to create economic and social development from below." He has also received several other national and international honors. Dr. Yunus is one of the founding members of Global Elders, a group of public figures noted as elder statesmen, peace activists, and human rights advocates whose goal is to solve global problems by using "almost 1,000 years of collective experience" to work on solutions for seemingly insurmountable problems like climate change, HIV/AIDS, and poverty, and "use their political independence to help resolve some of the world's most intractable conflicts."
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January 30, 2018
A disappointing collection of rhetoric.
Prof. Yunus manages to talk a lot without actually saying much. The crux of the book can be summarized as follows - the challenges of tomorrow can be met by creating "social businesses", which are basically sustainable (meaning revenue-positive) entreprenual endeavours that generate employment and are environment-friendly to boot. But there is absolutely no roadmap provided.
The anecdotes that Yunus has provided, instead of being illustrations that elaborate his ideas, end up becoming a liberal sprinkling of (what seem like) self-promotion. My discomfort with people who name things after themselves continues.
Sections that are promisingly titled teach you that you really shouldn't judge a book by its cover - the discussion on the failure of capitalism is nothing more than a collection of rather common-place data on income inequality, coupled with a few swipes at Trump; "Roadmap to the Future" is a rehash of the UN's MDG/SDG.
The book is not all bad - for instance, the rough discussion of a investment model for social businesses provides some food for thought. But that is hardly worth treding through +250 pages.
Make no mistake about it - Mohammad Yunus is a brilliant man who has accomplished much. There are some fascinating ideas that he has to present. But he is not a good writer. There aren't enough new or engaging ideas in this book to make it worth the effort.
If you have read any of his earlier books, you might be better off by skipping this one.
Prof. Yunus manages to talk a lot without actually saying much. The crux of the book can be summarized as follows - the challenges of tomorrow can be met by creating "social businesses", which are basically sustainable (meaning revenue-positive) entreprenual endeavours that generate employment and are environment-friendly to boot. But there is absolutely no roadmap provided.
The anecdotes that Yunus has provided, instead of being illustrations that elaborate his ideas, end up becoming a liberal sprinkling of (what seem like) self-promotion. My discomfort with people who name things after themselves continues.
Sections that are promisingly titled teach you that you really shouldn't judge a book by its cover - the discussion on the failure of capitalism is nothing more than a collection of rather common-place data on income inequality, coupled with a few swipes at Trump; "Roadmap to the Future" is a rehash of the UN's MDG/SDG.
The book is not all bad - for instance, the rough discussion of a investment model for social businesses provides some food for thought. But that is hardly worth treding through +250 pages.
Make no mistake about it - Mohammad Yunus is a brilliant man who has accomplished much. There are some fascinating ideas that he has to present. But he is not a good writer. There aren't enough new or engaging ideas in this book to make it worth the effort.
If you have read any of his earlier books, you might be better off by skipping this one.
June 7, 2021
3.5 Stars
Muhammad Yunus launched the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh in 1976 which makes capital available to poor villagers especially women. Microcredit since then have unleashed the entrepreneurial capabilities of over 300 million poor people around the world helping to break the chains of poverty and exploitation that have enslaved them.
Wealth acts like a magnet and the biggest magnet draws smaller magnets towards it, that's how the present economic system is built. In practice, globalisation have generated enormous tension and hostility, placing people and nations in a confrontational posture each striving to enhance its own selfish interests.
Climate change and wealth concentration both pose serious dangers to the future of human society. One poses a physical threat against the natural systems that make life on the planet liveable; other poses a special, political and economic threat against the right of all people to live in dignity, freedom and peace, pursuing goals that are higher than mere survival.
In order to fight against wealth concentration we need to redesign the economic framework of our society by moving from a system driven purely by personal interest to a system in which both personal and collective interests are recognized, promoted and celebrated.
A social business is a non-dividend company dedicated to solving human problems. Poverty is not created by poor people, it is created by an economic system in which all the resources keep surging up towards the top, creating an ever expanding mushroom head of wealth belonging to only one percent of the people.
Grameen over the years have partnered with many International Organizations for various projects but mostly they operated on their own multiple self-sustaining companies, the goal being not profits but sustainability and expansion.
Tackling poverty in a wealthy nation of the developed world is rather different from the challenge in a poor country because the poor are a relatively small fraction hence the challenge is finding and identifying poor and then designing social businesses to benefit those in need.
Poverty is not created by poor people rather it is an artificial imposition on people who are endowed with the same unlimited potential for creativity and energy for any human being in any station of life, anywhere in the world.
Social business represents a crucial element in the transition from our culture greed-based system civilization to a civilization based on the deeper human values of sharing and caring. The essence of entrepreneurship is in people's ability to unleash human creativity to the maximum which cannot germinate in an environment of repression and harsh government control.
The challenge is to establish economic, political and social systems that consistently honor the principles of freedom, justice and integrity, thereby unleash the potential for creativity and growth among people from every sector of humankind.
Capitalism is the root cause of today's world crisis as the framework of capitalism widely accepts today in a half built structure, one that turns Adam Smith's 'invisible hand' into a heavily biased hand that pushes the activities of the market in favour of the richest. The theory also holds that the marketplace is reserved for those who are interested in profit only, an interpretation that treats people as one dimensional beings but people are multidimensional.
Hence, social businesses can be an essential tool for resolving the crises the humankind faces. It also represents the highest form of creativity that humans are capable of, a powerful avenue for self discovery, self exploration and self definition.
Blog | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn
Muhammad Yunus launched the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh in 1976 which makes capital available to poor villagers especially women. Microcredit since then have unleashed the entrepreneurial capabilities of over 300 million poor people around the world helping to break the chains of poverty and exploitation that have enslaved them.
Wealth acts like a magnet and the biggest magnet draws smaller magnets towards it, that's how the present economic system is built. In practice, globalisation have generated enormous tension and hostility, placing people and nations in a confrontational posture each striving to enhance its own selfish interests.
Climate change and wealth concentration both pose serious dangers to the future of human society. One poses a physical threat against the natural systems that make life on the planet liveable; other poses a special, political and economic threat against the right of all people to live in dignity, freedom and peace, pursuing goals that are higher than mere survival.
In order to fight against wealth concentration we need to redesign the economic framework of our society by moving from a system driven purely by personal interest to a system in which both personal and collective interests are recognized, promoted and celebrated.
A social business is a non-dividend company dedicated to solving human problems. Poverty is not created by poor people, it is created by an economic system in which all the resources keep surging up towards the top, creating an ever expanding mushroom head of wealth belonging to only one percent of the people.
Grameen over the years have partnered with many International Organizations for various projects but mostly they operated on their own multiple self-sustaining companies, the goal being not profits but sustainability and expansion.
Tackling poverty in a wealthy nation of the developed world is rather different from the challenge in a poor country because the poor are a relatively small fraction hence the challenge is finding and identifying poor and then designing social businesses to benefit those in need.
Poverty is not created by poor people rather it is an artificial imposition on people who are endowed with the same unlimited potential for creativity and energy for any human being in any station of life, anywhere in the world.
Social business represents a crucial element in the transition from our culture greed-based system civilization to a civilization based on the deeper human values of sharing and caring. The essence of entrepreneurship is in people's ability to unleash human creativity to the maximum which cannot germinate in an environment of repression and harsh government control.
The challenge is to establish economic, political and social systems that consistently honor the principles of freedom, justice and integrity, thereby unleash the potential for creativity and growth among people from every sector of humankind.
Capitalism is the root cause of today's world crisis as the framework of capitalism widely accepts today in a half built structure, one that turns Adam Smith's 'invisible hand' into a heavily biased hand that pushes the activities of the market in favour of the richest. The theory also holds that the marketplace is reserved for those who are interested in profit only, an interpretation that treats people as one dimensional beings but people are multidimensional.
Hence, social businesses can be an essential tool for resolving the crises the humankind faces. It also represents the highest form of creativity that humans are capable of, a powerful avenue for self discovery, self exploration and self definition.
Blog | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn
December 15, 2017
It’s basically a pitch on his initiatives worldwide all of which I am ambivalent about. I think microcredit is a good idea in certain places for certain people, but it is no panacea and when it is treated as such, it becomes a policy decoy. Also social business is a great idea too, but it’s a bit naive to believe that business can solve the problems businesses created in the first place. It’s like he’s not quite thinking broadly enough yet he points out the right problems so...
March 16, 2018
Chock full of great, big-think ideas, and extremely thought-provoking. And, for that reason, well worth reading. And the author is the real deal, a Nobel Prize winner, and a legitimate global thought leader, innovator, entrepreneur, and change agent. And it was informative and inspirational to learn about his aspirations, ideas, projects, hopes, and plans.
But, alas, my sense is that the book is far too dull and dry for broad, popular consumption - text book dry - which is a shame, because (I'm pretty sure) the intended audience is the public at large (and, of course, business leaders, wealthy investors, and senior government officials and policy-makers).
Ultimately, I'd love see more discussion about these kinds of topics - the (depressing, unsustainable, and, largely, indefensible) global wealth concentration and social stratification, doing the right thing, social business, acting in the public good, tempering theoretical economics with reality, reconsidering economics to account for actual human behavior, taking actions consistent with caring about others, etc. This just may not be the perfect book to get these messages to the masses.
But, as long as you know what you're getting into, the book is a terrific resource for learning more about social business, micro finance, and creative efforts to enhance global quality of life (particularly for the poor and the young) without resorting to classic charity-based models.
But, alas, my sense is that the book is far too dull and dry for broad, popular consumption - text book dry - which is a shame, because (I'm pretty sure) the intended audience is the public at large (and, of course, business leaders, wealthy investors, and senior government officials and policy-makers).
Ultimately, I'd love see more discussion about these kinds of topics - the (depressing, unsustainable, and, largely, indefensible) global wealth concentration and social stratification, doing the right thing, social business, acting in the public good, tempering theoretical economics with reality, reconsidering economics to account for actual human behavior, taking actions consistent with caring about others, etc. This just may not be the perfect book to get these messages to the masses.
But, as long as you know what you're getting into, the book is a terrific resource for learning more about social business, micro finance, and creative efforts to enhance global quality of life (particularly for the poor and the young) without resorting to classic charity-based models.
September 13, 2022
I love Nobel Laureate Dr. Yunus for his tireless efforts and advocacy on social business. Among so many capitalistic, self-centered, profit oriented people, here you see a man who wants to see a world with zero poverty, zero unemployment, and zero net carbon emissions.
The book begins with a criticism on capitalism, and then presents hope for a new civilization through social business. Yunus criticizes the current wealth accumulation trend in which the rich become richer and the wealth ownership goes towards one direction - upward. Citing the greedy-giant corporations and their extensive exploitation of environment and resources, he warns this trend has led fewer people own more of the world's wealth and it will be even worse in future.
Yunus tries to inspire people to become entrepreneurs. He imagines a world where nobody knows the meaning of unemployment. In his imaginary world, he finds no body seeking jobs as everybody became entrepreneurs, and companies beg people to become employees!!! Yunus seems to be extra-large in his imagination.
The book goes on explaining various social business projects led by Yunus and their "success" in the making of three zeros. His repetitive illustrations of several social business projects make the book boring from the middle, from there you need a special mercy on Yunus to reach the end of book. Having gone through all his social business projects, still the three zeros remain an unrealistic phenomenon lacking solid means of achieving.
Overall, it’s a good read.
The book begins with a criticism on capitalism, and then presents hope for a new civilization through social business. Yunus criticizes the current wealth accumulation trend in which the rich become richer and the wealth ownership goes towards one direction - upward. Citing the greedy-giant corporations and their extensive exploitation of environment and resources, he warns this trend has led fewer people own more of the world's wealth and it will be even worse in future.
Yunus tries to inspire people to become entrepreneurs. He imagines a world where nobody knows the meaning of unemployment. In his imaginary world, he finds no body seeking jobs as everybody became entrepreneurs, and companies beg people to become employees!!! Yunus seems to be extra-large in his imagination.
The book goes on explaining various social business projects led by Yunus and their "success" in the making of three zeros. His repetitive illustrations of several social business projects make the book boring from the middle, from there you need a special mercy on Yunus to reach the end of book. Having gone through all his social business projects, still the three zeros remain an unrealistic phenomenon lacking solid means of achieving.
Overall, it’s a good read.
June 11, 2018
Some thought-provoking ideas, a good critique of capitalism that provides a hopeful alternative (while still keeping within this overarching economic structure)... but it got so boring and repetitive in the middle that I mostly skimmed the second half. I appreciate Yunus’s optimism, but by the end of this book, I was tired of hearing the same buzzword-type phrases repeated over and over again. This type of vague, inspiring, “world-changing” theory is hard to write about without cliche, and although I’m glad I understand social businesses more now, I could’ve gotten the same overview from a 20-min TEDTalk.
January 24, 2020
The writing is below the par for this kind of work, that didn't help -- but just, ugh.
If you think changing your idea of the world from "worker" to "entrepreneur" will save the world, well, you're an idiot, but you might like this book.
If you think changing your idea of the world from "worker" to "entrepreneur" will save the world, well, you're an idiot, but you might like this book.
March 8, 2020
I think I’m left a little cynical because I just finished Evicted. And the dark hole that book put me in is it going to take more than an empty platitudes and Jedi hand wave business plans to get out of. But this book was a disappointment.
Many of these initiatives sound very nice. And I'm impressed by their successes. But much of this book reads like the Ted talk your girlfriend recommended about communication. Morally righteous, Slightly passive aggressive and while you can't fundamentally disagree that better communication is good, you just wonder if the speakers approach to it is realistic. You get this 10,000 foot view of a topic and one would expect in a book that the topic is flushed out, but it’s not in this book.
I’m reminded of the quote "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them." this quote can be nonsense for a lot of situations. But I really think it applies here, is business going to solve problems that business has created? We sometimes forget we have this thing called government where we elect a small group of people who have power to regulate problems and to care for the populace. it’s almost as if we could use that silly structure to help reduce the whole poverty-carbon-unemployment conundrum.
Many of these initiatives sound very nice. And I'm impressed by their successes. But much of this book reads like the Ted talk your girlfriend recommended about communication. Morally righteous, Slightly passive aggressive and while you can't fundamentally disagree that better communication is good, you just wonder if the speakers approach to it is realistic. You get this 10,000 foot view of a topic and one would expect in a book that the topic is flushed out, but it’s not in this book.
I’m reminded of the quote "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them." this quote can be nonsense for a lot of situations. But I really think it applies here, is business going to solve problems that business has created? We sometimes forget we have this thing called government where we elect a small group of people who have power to regulate problems and to care for the populace. it’s almost as if we could use that silly structure to help reduce the whole poverty-carbon-unemployment conundrum.
February 21, 2019
It was a good book. I like what the author is actually doing to help the world. And I like that he actually making a difference in our world. He is definitely a role modelcto look up to and I hope that through this book he is able to help others to better understsnd what is actually going on behind closed doors. Poverty is growing but it can be stopped. This was a very inspirational read.
December 11, 2017
This may not be a road map to the best possible world, but may be a route to the best world possible today.
First the major flaw is that carbon emissions is barely addressed. In fairness though unemployment and poverty are big enough topics for one work. The larger problem though is that continuing economic growth requires energy, which still today means more energy and ergo carbon. This book assumes economic growth can continue.
That being said it's refreshing to see a book start in the right place. Today's wealth distribution is a major problem for capitalism, the needs of the global poor are undeserved, and the answer isn't in trying more 20th century ideas.
Yunus' proposed solution (already in action and he gives examples) is the social business. An enterprise that 1.) solves a social problem 2.) pays it's operators 3.) returns it's capital plus a fee (but not interest) to solve the next problem. The triple bottom line in other words.
This works because it harness the innovation of business but reduces the profit seeking motive (to actually solve problems and reduces the wealth accumulation problem) and is self-sustaining unlike charity. I don't think this idea alone will deliver all three results, but it is a good place to start and these proposals can be implemented within the current system.
First the major flaw is that carbon emissions is barely addressed. In fairness though unemployment and poverty are big enough topics for one work. The larger problem though is that continuing economic growth requires energy, which still today means more energy and ergo carbon. This book assumes economic growth can continue.
That being said it's refreshing to see a book start in the right place. Today's wealth distribution is a major problem for capitalism, the needs of the global poor are undeserved, and the answer isn't in trying more 20th century ideas.
Yunus' proposed solution (already in action and he gives examples) is the social business. An enterprise that 1.) solves a social problem 2.) pays it's operators 3.) returns it's capital plus a fee (but not interest) to solve the next problem. The triple bottom line in other words.
This works because it harness the innovation of business but reduces the profit seeking motive (to actually solve problems and reduces the wealth accumulation problem) and is self-sustaining unlike charity. I don't think this idea alone will deliver all three results, but it is a good place to start and these proposals can be implemented within the current system.
September 1, 2019
This book is mainly a sum up of all the different things Muhammad Yunus achieved with Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and the rest of the world, but also from different people who followed his lead. Maybe it sounds a little boring, but I actually really enjoyed reading this book. It was a nice change to read about long term projects that have had a big influence already and is so widespread over the world. It gave me a bit more hope and inspiration. It is good to know that there actually are a lot of people working on making this world a better place, even if it's only a small influence, it will still make a difference!
4 starts
4 starts
October 24, 2018
He talks so much but says so little. You have to sift through a lot of garbage and self-promotion to get to anything interesting. The book is poorly written and ends up sounding like a generic essay written by a high school student. I agree with others who said the whole book could’ve been condensed into a 30-minute TED talk.
unreadable
May 6, 2025A World of Three Zeros :-
No Iran, No Qatar and no Pakistan. And a small bonus, no Muhammad Yunus too.
What a disgrace that this man turned out to be such a bigot.
No Iran, No Qatar and no Pakistan. And a small bonus, no Muhammad Yunus too.
What a disgrace that this man turned out to be such a bigot.
October 10, 2020
I got a chance to meet Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus on 10/06/2020. Thanks to the IPADE Business School and University of North Florida (Department of Economics and Geography) for arranging the MBA International Week. The 2006 Nobel Peace prize winner, Professor Yunus (University of Chittagong, Bangladesh), provided his thoughts on the topic ‘Post-Corona Reconstruction Program: NO Going Back’. He also answered everyone’s question during the later part of the session. I am happy to post the key highlights of the discussion and my learnings below:
1. The professor started with his famous words, ‘We need not be too smart to do smart things.’. The Pandemic has proved the weakness of the current economic system. And it is high time for us to think and act to strengthen it. Millions were walking hundreds of miles to their villages in Bangladesh and India. The vaccine is expected to come by the end of the year. His appeal to the world is that ‘The vaccine should be made for global good and not for any commercial interest. Only then can everyone get the vaccine’.
2. Life vs. livelihood is not the question. Life is a unique thing, and that cannot be traded with anything.
3. There is a term in economics called the ‘Informal Sector’. More than half of the population (with no food and unemployment) fall under this category. Only when people get a job, they become part of the formal economic sector. He wanted to call the informal sector as the ‘Micro Entrepreneur Sector’.
4. Humans are not money-making machines. Humans should be driven by self-interest and also by a common interest. So there is a commercial aspect and as well as there is a non-commercial aspect in life. The balance is what we need to learn. In the current world, we can see extreme wealth control. Almost 1 % of the population owning 99% of the wealth. This is an incorrect economic system designed by us.
5. All states have the Labor ministry, but we also need a ministry of micro-entrepreneurs since half of the human population will fall under this sector. There is no system in place to support them in many parts of the world. These micro-entrepreneurs can grow as a top entrepreneur. A sound economic system will have the provision to support this movement from Micro-entrepreneurship to Macro-entrepreneurship.
6. The prediction/prayer is that the economy should go back to normal by the end of 2020. The machine is on a halt by COVID-19. Governments are in a hurry to go back by announcing trillions of relief packages. But according to the professor, there is no hurry to go back. That world is full of global warming, carbon emission, ozone issues. And we have only a few years left in that terrible world. So, there is no meaning in returning to that world. The professor's analogy was that ‘The high-speed train is going towards the deadline with its maximum speed and corona gave an opportunity to stop the train and think for some time. If we should not go back there, then where we need to go? We should design a world of three zeros and go there (Zero Unemployment, Zero Poverty, and Zero Carbon Emission) and go back there.
By the end of the session, I felt I had been injected with a concentrated dose of motivation. Everything happens because of motivation – A.H. Maslow. He electrified and energized us when he mentioned, "You are a superhuman compared to your grandfather, so do not waste the power you have for trivial purposes". Overall, I did not feel like meeting a Nobel laureate but felt like I met a well-wisher from a neighboring house or a friend’s father. Found that being simple is the perfect/only way to achieve Himalayan targets!
1. The professor started with his famous words, ‘We need not be too smart to do smart things.’. The Pandemic has proved the weakness of the current economic system. And it is high time for us to think and act to strengthen it. Millions were walking hundreds of miles to their villages in Bangladesh and India. The vaccine is expected to come by the end of the year. His appeal to the world is that ‘The vaccine should be made for global good and not for any commercial interest. Only then can everyone get the vaccine’.
2. Life vs. livelihood is not the question. Life is a unique thing, and that cannot be traded with anything.
3. There is a term in economics called the ‘Informal Sector’. More than half of the population (with no food and unemployment) fall under this category. Only when people get a job, they become part of the formal economic sector. He wanted to call the informal sector as the ‘Micro Entrepreneur Sector’.
4. Humans are not money-making machines. Humans should be driven by self-interest and also by a common interest. So there is a commercial aspect and as well as there is a non-commercial aspect in life. The balance is what we need to learn. In the current world, we can see extreme wealth control. Almost 1 % of the population owning 99% of the wealth. This is an incorrect economic system designed by us.
5. All states have the Labor ministry, but we also need a ministry of micro-entrepreneurs since half of the human population will fall under this sector. There is no system in place to support them in many parts of the world. These micro-entrepreneurs can grow as a top entrepreneur. A sound economic system will have the provision to support this movement from Micro-entrepreneurship to Macro-entrepreneurship.
6. The prediction/prayer is that the economy should go back to normal by the end of 2020. The machine is on a halt by COVID-19. Governments are in a hurry to go back by announcing trillions of relief packages. But according to the professor, there is no hurry to go back. That world is full of global warming, carbon emission, ozone issues. And we have only a few years left in that terrible world. So, there is no meaning in returning to that world. The professor's analogy was that ‘The high-speed train is going towards the deadline with its maximum speed and corona gave an opportunity to stop the train and think for some time. If we should not go back there, then where we need to go? We should design a world of three zeros and go there (Zero Unemployment, Zero Poverty, and Zero Carbon Emission) and go back there.
By the end of the session, I felt I had been injected with a concentrated dose of motivation. Everything happens because of motivation – A.H. Maslow. He electrified and energized us when he mentioned, "You are a superhuman compared to your grandfather, so do not waste the power you have for trivial purposes". Overall, I did not feel like meeting a Nobel laureate but felt like I met a well-wisher from a neighboring house or a friend’s father. Found that being simple is the perfect/only way to achieve Himalayan targets!
September 30, 2018
A lot of fascinating ideas in this book make it worth reading, despite its shortcomings. I really enjoy Yunus’ idea of social businesses as self-sustaining alternatives to traditional philanthropy. In theory they offer a more clearly beneficial use of philanthropic funds while still using business to solve problems. From the arguments Yunus sets out here, social businesses are a great alternative to simply donating money because they empower the people they are helping. I love his point that we should re-frame unemployment as a chance for entrepreneurship, and that we should phase out the word retirement and replace it with freedom to pursue what you want. It also made me realize, sadly, that small-scale entrepreneurship is still bureaucratically hard, and we don't have a perfect market. If I wanted to sell some extra food I made to friends, technically that would be illegal without business registration, right? That is a shame and discourages small-scale entrepreneurship.
However, while many of these ideas were powerful, they ignore what I think is the missing key: that the human profit motive and inequality are things that people inherently want. Yes, poverty is bad, and it is sad that some of the world’s richest have more money than millions of the world’s poorest. But the solution of getting rid of profit maximizing companies is missing the fact that humans, and all species differentiate among each other in this competition called life. For animals the competition is usually for resources and safety. In our world, money, which usually leads to resources and safety, has become the scorecard. Profit maximizing businesses give us a way to do that. If we got rid of them, we would just find a new way to compete. I wanted the book to delve into what that might be in a world with only social businesses. This book seems to suggest we need to get rid of profit maximizing businesses and I don’t believe we can truly do that without finding humanity another way to compete with each other.
In sum, Yunus has built a strong foundation by suggesting we create social businesses, but I think has not nailed the execution for two reasons:
1. By not addressing why the profit motive is there and how to work with it.
2. By repeating himself and drawing out the end of the book. The first 100 pages are mind-blowing, but after that the points become repetitive, the case studies start to blur together, and the scope of this thesis begins to expand so much that it becomes unwieldy.
There is a lot of thinking to still be done on this topic but this is a solid starting place to get your creative juices flowing.
However, while many of these ideas were powerful, they ignore what I think is the missing key: that the human profit motive and inequality are things that people inherently want. Yes, poverty is bad, and it is sad that some of the world’s richest have more money than millions of the world’s poorest. But the solution of getting rid of profit maximizing companies is missing the fact that humans, and all species differentiate among each other in this competition called life. For animals the competition is usually for resources and safety. In our world, money, which usually leads to resources and safety, has become the scorecard. Profit maximizing businesses give us a way to do that. If we got rid of them, we would just find a new way to compete. I wanted the book to delve into what that might be in a world with only social businesses. This book seems to suggest we need to get rid of profit maximizing businesses and I don’t believe we can truly do that without finding humanity another way to compete with each other.
In sum, Yunus has built a strong foundation by suggesting we create social businesses, but I think has not nailed the execution for two reasons:
1. By not addressing why the profit motive is there and how to work with it.
2. By repeating himself and drawing out the end of the book. The first 100 pages are mind-blowing, but after that the points become repetitive, the case studies start to blur together, and the scope of this thesis begins to expand so much that it becomes unwieldy.
There is a lot of thinking to still be done on this topic but this is a solid starting place to get your creative juices flowing.
October 18, 2018
After reading the Kindle sample I had my doubts about this book. Would the new economics just be a repeat of the top-down control economies that people loved to think up 50 years ago. But as soon as I got beyond what was in the sample I was disabused of this possibility. Yunus thinks that we are all natural entrepreneurs and need help to develop this. It's an inspiring book, and I did think about giving it 5 stars, but there are a few problems. One is that Yunus repeats the idea that most of the wealth in the world is owned by a few greedy people, when in really a lot of it is in the form of pension funds. Although Yunus suggests that we should see retirement as time of new opportunity he doesn't link this in to the distribution of wealth. Also when he tells us that the eight richest people in the world (who were supposed to own more than the poorest 50% but don't really) have pledged to give half their money away it rather contradicts some of his earlier claims.
Another thing I would note is that Yunus' social business model has been in operation for 40 years now. Why hasn't it taken over the world? And what about criticisms of this model. I felt that a book like this would be a good place to take stock and respond to criticism, but this didn't happen.
Despite these problems (my reviews always point out what's wrong with a book), I felt that Yunus' social business ideas do have a lot to offer, and most importantly of all it was interesting to read, (I wanted to keep reading to find out more about his ideas), so I decide to give it 4 stars.
Another thing I would note is that Yunus' social business model has been in operation for 40 years now. Why hasn't it taken over the world? And what about criticisms of this model. I felt that a book like this would be a good place to take stock and respond to criticism, but this didn't happen.
Despite these problems (my reviews always point out what's wrong with a book), I felt that Yunus' social business ideas do have a lot to offer, and most importantly of all it was interesting to read, (I wanted to keep reading to find out more about his ideas), so I decide to give it 4 stars.
May 29, 2024
Meat eating is a inefficient use of natural resources. The number of nutritious calories delivered by meat is far lower than grains. More and more grains are used to feed cattle.
Bangladesh is the world's most densely populated country with 20% of its land less than one meter above sea level.
In Europe, unemployment among young people under age twenty-five is at 18.6%. In Greece, Spain, and Italy the rate is over 40%.
By 2050 it is likely that rising seas will permanently flood about 17% of Bangladesh, forcing 18 million people to flee.
Today 20% of Ugandan city dwellers and over 50% of rural villagers lack access to pure drinking water.
Fast growing cities in the world have a huge problem dealing with an expanding flood of trash.
Over 9 million Ugandans lack access to safe drinking water and an estimated 440 children die every week of waterborne disease. It is a costly and time consuming process to boil water before drinking it.
The world succeeded in reducing the number if people living in extreme poverty from 21.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015.
Experts say that more than 30% of the food that we produce, an estimated 1.3 billion metric tons annually, goes uneaten due to waste.
Bangladesh is the world's most densely populated country with 20% of its land less than one meter above sea level.
In Europe, unemployment among young people under age twenty-five is at 18.6%. In Greece, Spain, and Italy the rate is over 40%.
By 2050 it is likely that rising seas will permanently flood about 17% of Bangladesh, forcing 18 million people to flee.
Today 20% of Ugandan city dwellers and over 50% of rural villagers lack access to pure drinking water.
Fast growing cities in the world have a huge problem dealing with an expanding flood of trash.
Over 9 million Ugandans lack access to safe drinking water and an estimated 440 children die every week of waterborne disease. It is a costly and time consuming process to boil water before drinking it.
The world succeeded in reducing the number if people living in extreme poverty from 21.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015.
Experts say that more than 30% of the food that we produce, an estimated 1.3 billion metric tons annually, goes uneaten due to waste.
Read
May 9, 2018A book to make Wall Street quake — if Wall Street paid attention to the developing world … The author's humane proposal for economic reform, far from impractical, makes for provocative reading for development specialists.
Kirkus Reviews
The book has a lotto like and Yunus's faith in the entrepreneurial spirit is uplifting. His focus is on communities in developing countries but with lessons for everyone, and a wealth of ideas.
In the Black
Kirkus Reviews
The book has a lotto like and Yunus's faith in the entrepreneurial spirit is uplifting. His focus is on communities in developing countries but with lessons for everyone, and a wealth of ideas.
In the Black
August 18, 2018
Mr. Yunus describes some fine ideas in this book, detailing several experiences and laying out his argument for the potential that social business could unleash on communities around the globe. I applaud his efforts and wish him the best - I only give the book 3 stars because it felt overwrought, too long. It should have been much shorter.
December 27, 2019
Poorly written, repetitive, and unashamedly full of self-promotion. Yunus clearly has achieved a lot, but this book is more about his achievements in micro-financing than anything else. What is said in 266 pages could have been said in 26!
Read
February 26, 2018it's crazy how much u can read on planes !!!
March 26, 2019
a very idealistic book, but still worthy of your time. there is so much to learn, so much to reconsider, so much to change.
September 19, 2025
This book is definitely worth reading, but if you want an insight onto exactly how positive a future the author dreams of, go ahead and scope out "Zero Unemployment" in the subtitle. That is my main qualm with this proposed economic structure. This intelligent, good-willed author sees the problems of the world that have been wrought by rampant capitalism, acknowledges that capitalism and the ultra-wealthy elite who are steering the ship are the problem, and then proposes that the solution to these issues is... Diet Capitalism™.
The concept of social businesses put forward by the author is powerful and well-intentioned, and I am convinced by the good work that the folks empowered by this concept are already doing. However, even before the end of the book (which was published in 2017), the author has to admit that one of the foremost social businesses, and one I believe the author himself established, has already come under the control of powerful people who have already begun misusing its infrastructure.
Let me be clear, the economic system detailed in this book is one I would much prefer over our current economic system, but it seems to me that it would take the span of a single generation before the new system was conformed back into the shape of the current system, with the same or similar folks at the top of the power structure.
In addition to the proposals in this book looking almost naive from 2025 in the United States, the author has a condescendingly beneficent view of women, people with disabilities, and retirees, seems completely unconcerned about or unaware of the LGBTQ+ community, and completely discounts the idea that anyone might enjoy not having to work to survive.
In the end, this book is a real mixed bag. BUT! It does seem like a decent transition step for altruistic capitalists who recognize the problems in the world and want to use the bag of dollar-sign-shaped hammers they have to try to solve them. It's a much shorter step from Yunus's version of capitalism to the Star Trek future than it is from our current economic system, that's for sure.
The concept of social businesses put forward by the author is powerful and well-intentioned, and I am convinced by the good work that the folks empowered by this concept are already doing. However, even before the end of the book (which was published in 2017), the author has to admit that one of the foremost social businesses, and one I believe the author himself established, has already come under the control of powerful people who have already begun misusing its infrastructure.
Let me be clear, the economic system detailed in this book is one I would much prefer over our current economic system, but it seems to me that it would take the span of a single generation before the new system was conformed back into the shape of the current system, with the same or similar folks at the top of the power structure.
In addition to the proposals in this book looking almost naive from 2025 in the United States, the author has a condescendingly beneficent view of women, people with disabilities, and retirees, seems completely unconcerned about or unaware of the LGBTQ+ community, and completely discounts the idea that anyone might enjoy not having to work to survive.
In the end, this book is a real mixed bag. BUT! It does seem like a decent transition step for altruistic capitalists who recognize the problems in the world and want to use the bag of dollar-sign-shaped hammers they have to try to solve them. It's a much shorter step from Yunus's version of capitalism to the Star Trek future than it is from our current economic system, that's for sure.
July 3, 2025
Desde el primer momento me di cuenta que este libro hablaría sobre el stakeholderism llevado a un extremo, el cual es un punto de vista que no comparto. Admito que si bien no conecté con la mayoría de las ideas de Muhammad Yunus, la premisa central que me impulsó a terminar el libro fue la convicción de que las empresas son el medio más poderoso para el progreso humano y la elevación de la humanidad. Es en este punto donde nuestras visiones conectaron. De ahí en adelante fue más fácil entender el propósito de este libro y se me facilitó el planteamiento de las ideas innovadoras del autor sobre un nuevo sistema económico y una nueva forma de empresa.
Con lo primero que me quedo es con la idea de que erróneamente nos hemos planteado como buscadores de empleo “Job seekers” y no como creadores de empleo “Job creators”, al cambiar esta mentalidad, siento que el potencial humano se podría disparar a para transformar resultados increíbles.
Lo segundo que me llamó la atención de este libro es la importancia de crear con un propósito, un propósito mayor. El autor me mostró que lo que vale no es el hecho de crear una empresa para maximizar utilidades y hacer felices a los accionistas, sino de generar una empresa que realmente esté teniendo un impacto positivo en la humanidad sin la necesidad de un incentivo económico.
Por último, algo que me marcó del libro son los datos aterradores que dan sobre la concentración de capital generados por el capitalismo. Que solo 8 personas tengan el mismo poder adquisitivo que la mitad de la población mundial deja mucho que pensar sobre el modelo económico actual, y abre la mente a nuevas posibilidades planteadas por Muhammed Yunus para encontrar un poco más de igualdad en el mundo.
June 12, 2023
Fue un libro sensacional!! Pone a pensar sobre el compromiso social que deberíamos tener todas las personas en el mundo de los negocios. Es una mirada legítima con una propuesta concreta a desarrollar, además de negocios que generen rentabilidad, negocios que solucionen problemas de nuestra sociedad.
Una nueva economía basada en los tres ceros (pobreza cero, desempleo cero, y cero emisiones netas de carbono) generaría un mejor mundo, pero para ello, según el autor, “tenemos que tener un nuevo sistema económico que convierta el altruismo en una fuerza creativa tan poderosa como el interés propio”.
Una nueva economía basada en los tres ceros (pobreza cero, desempleo cero, y cero emisiones netas de carbono) generaría un mejor mundo, pero para ello, según el autor, “tenemos que tener un nuevo sistema económico que convierta el altruismo en una fuerza creativa tan poderosa como el interés propio”.
May 29, 2023
Oversimplifies development and poverty alleviation, almost implying a one-size fits all, NGO-powered, self-help approach that overlooks the role of institutional and structural shortcomings that perpetuate destitute poverty. A good but biased insight into microfinance.
April 15, 2024
Dumb book. Thought it would be interesting because the author has done some cool things. Was basically just a long brag about all his initiatives, all of which have “Yunus” in their names. Guy clearly needs attention. Pretty turdy/light tbh
July 17, 2024
life changing for me!!! felt some of my thoughts reflected on his argument. it mainly points out the flaws of capitalism and presents the idea of social businesses. it does feel like a bit generic with lack of depth but its such an inspiring food for thought. recommend!!!! 💐
June 23, 2022
Yunus Social Business idea is a super inspiring way to make the world a better place. Highly recommend
January 14, 2020
I love the concept of micro economy and social business and this book introduced me to most of those concepts. And also the books gives a good idea on fixing the existing capitalistic system to empower a much larger number of people across the world whom are currently under represented given their poor credit history or the lack of access to bank system. However, I felt there are tow issues with the book:
-Did not like how the author tries to take credits for many of the ideas in the book
-The basis of self-less ambitions being the main motivation behind social businesses and micro landing sounds good but not very convincing
-Did not like how the author tries to take credits for many of the ideas in the book
-The basis of self-less ambitions being the main motivation behind social businesses and micro landing sounds good but not very convincing
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