JOIN USNobel laureate stresses on 3 zeroes for new civilisation
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, on Friday, asserted that there was a possibility of creating a new civilisation if the scourge of poverty, unemployment and net carbon emission were addressed in the world.
Delivering a lecture on the topic ‘Redesigning economics to redesign the world’, marking the launch of the Nobel laureate lecture series, organised as a part of the centenary celebrations of the University of Mysore, Yunus of Grameen Bank fame from Bangladesh, said, “If we focus on three zeros - zero poverty, zero unemployment and zero net carbon emission - we can create a new civilisation.”
Yunus, who spoke extempore for 90 minutes to the rapt attention of the audience at the Senate Hall, said the existing system in society created poverty. So, there is a need for a system that can eradicate poverty.Touching upon the growing realm of technology that is changing the world, Yunus said, however, the driver of technology was either a money-maker or a war-minded man. One wants to make use of technology for one’s gain, rather than for others’ welfare.
‘Be the change’
No government can completely solve the problems plaguing society. People in general need to be the change, Yunus said. To achieve this, he said, youngsters should be job creators rather than job-seekers. “It is possible, as every human being is born with superlative creative power.”
Yunus, a professor in economics in the nascent stage of his career, emphasised on changing the set definition of economics that vows for ‘maximisation of profit’. He said, “Economic framework is a given mould, that needs to be changed with a new mould.”
On his ‘Grameen Bank’ initiative that changed the sphere of economics in rural Bangladesh, Yunus claimed, “Whenever I saw a problem, I created a new social business that helped in addressing the issue.”
He said, “Whenever I was confronted by entrepreneurs, their only question was ‘why don’t you start a charity to help people?’
The answer was, charity helps one, but social initiatives help many. Grameen Bank has a deposit of $8.5 million, with 99 per cent of the investors being women. It has 2,600 branches catering for 80,000 villages.”