Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism

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 an economic and social revolution that is already underway and in the worldwide effort to eliminate poverty by unleashing the productive energy of every human being.

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

An inspiring success story of a new "social" business model, 2008-11-11
I've just finished reading the book from Muhammad Yunus - the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, and I cannot give it less than 5 stars. It is an inspiring book that can touch your heart and motivate you to fight against poverty. At the same time, it did not quite match my expectations in terms of content, so I'd like to make clear in this review what you should and should not expect from this great book.

First of all, Muhammad Yunus presents his vision of the social business. It is a powerful idea based on challenging the assumption of one-dimensional human beings that aim at maximizing profit. This concept lies at the core of established economic theories, and supports the current notion of the business that should maximize value for its shareholders. The social business is totally dedicated to solving social or environmental problems. It is different from charities or NGO's as it does not generate losses, and it's different from profit-maximizing businesses as it does not pay dividend.

Furthermore, the author gives an account of real social businesses that he has created. It starts with Grameen Bank, the microcredit organization providing banking services to the poor people from Bangladesh, including beggars. Grameen Bank is a huge success story, and its model has been reapplied in numerous countries. Another example is Grameen-Danone yoghurt factory that aims at improving the diet of poor Bangladeshi children. It's been recently opened as a joint venture between the Danone corporation and Grameen Bank, and it follows the social business model as described by Yunus.

Finally, the reader is confronted with a vision of the world where poverty can only be seen in museums. I would compare this part of the book to a manifesto that describes the building blocks of a new world where social business can flourish, the environmental problems are resolved by mutual consensus between nations, and the information and communication technologies help the developing nations to participate in and benefit from the globalized market.

It is important to note what you should not expect from this book. It definitely isn't an instruction, or a how-to guide for creating a social business. It isn't a science book either - instead of presenting sound models and theories, the author focuses on his vision and experience, and the book is an account of real-life stories and examples.

The value of Creating a World Without Poverty lies in the inspiration it provides, in fascinating real-life examples of the author's journey to eliminate poverty in his country. It may sometimes sound like a science-fiction vision, but the example of Grameen Bank shows that nothing described in this book is impossible. It's a must-read.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

It wasn't the original book, 2008-10-24
The cover is the same you see in the picture. However it's removable paper cover, meaning it's not the original book. Someone got the original book, made thousands of cookies in a blue cover book, and added this beautiful removable paper cover to it.

The bootom line is I bought thinking it was the original book, but it wasn't. However, the text is the same, so I'm going to enjoy it anyway!


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

A reason to hope, 2008-10-24
Yunus has written a frank and straightforward description of a vision of a different and better world. The best part is that his theory has experience and people to back it up--not just dreams. It challenges the American views of community and commerce but I found that to be a source of hope in our crumbling economy. I believe it's best read if you are interested and invested in seeing society grow up.


1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

High on rhetoric, short on action, 2008-09-07
Professor Yunus' book pales in comparison to his Banker to the Poor - this current book is light on action and heavy on rhetoric. It does tell a story about how he was able to create a social enterprise - using his connections as a Nobel Prize winner and book author.

It does not give any type of action plan on how the typical person could arrange a social business or even more their company more toward a social function. I was disappointed as it was more a book of opinions and far-flung ideas about how to create institutions like social stock markets, etc., and little about how to actionably help the poor.

In all, an interesting book, but mostly due to Yunus' writing style and easy of telling stories. It contains some short history but not enough action. I highly prefer C.K. Prahalad's Fortune at the Bottom of The Pyramid for more direct guidance on how this has been done.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

"Creating A World Without Poverty" by Muhammad Yunus, 2008-09-03
In "Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism," the follow up to "Banker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty", Muhammad Yunus describes a new economic entity he calls the "social business." In short, this is an organization that has a specific social goal as opposed to regular business, for which profit is the only goal.

Yunus is most famous for receiving the Nobel Prize in 2006 along with his Grameen Bank, which is the world's largest maker of microloans. Since then, microlending has come into vogue, and the term has become very popular, though I venture that many people who use the term do not understand the implications. The idea is exciting enough that you don't need to understand; money is given like charity, but then gotten back like an investment. It's like the mystical quarter on a string that allows you unlimited candy from the vending machine. Except, now it's real.

Yunus is not the inventor of microlending, but the first person to effectively practice it on a large scale. He says, "it was appropriate that the Nobel committee in 2006 chose to award Grameen Bank, not the Nobel Prize for Economics, but the Nobel Prize for Peace. By lifting people out of poverty, microcredit is a long-term force for peace" (105). In Bangladesh, the only country in which Grameen Bank operates "80 percent of poor families have already been reached with microcredit" (66). The evidence shows that Bangladesh has undergone many improvements in quality of life for the poor that can specifically be attributed to microlending.

The reason that this book is almost 250 pages is because Yunus is serious about proposing Social Business as an idea, and he lays out strategies for social entrepreneurs and pre-emptively tackles the naysayers. Yunus is a man who knows his audience. I will leave you with this:

"Young people all around the world, particularly in rich countries, will find the concept of social business very appealing. Many young people today feel frustrated because they cannot recognize any worthy challenge that excites them within the present capitalist system. When you have grown up with ready access to the consumer goods of the world, earning a lot of money isn't a particularly inspiring goal. Social business can fill this void" (39).

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