A BOOK REVIEW OF ‘A WORLD OF THREE ZEROS’ WITH PROBABLE RECOMMENDATIONS TO SOLVING THE GLOBAL SOCIAL PROBLEMS
Table of Contents
Contents
Opinions and Recommendations on Solutions. 5
General Prospect to Solutions. 5
Recommendations to Achieve Zero Poverty Levels. 6
Recommendations to Achieve Zero Unemployment 6
Recommendations to Achieve Zero Net Carbon Emissions. 7
A World of Three Zeros
Book Review and Summary
A World of Three Zeros was authored by Muhammad Yunus to give a listening ear to the poor while fixing both the economy and the environment. It offers alternative solutions by reimagining the concept of capitalism. The book dismisses the capitalistic notion that poverty is caused by the poor. It states that capitalistic ideas only attempt to create and concentrate wealth. The book focuses on the three basic tenets of capitalism that look into developing and sustaining an economy on zero poverty, zero unemployment, and zero net carbon emissions that climate change threatens.
The book tries to give alternative solutions to poverty by criticizing Adam Smith’s assumption that ‘humans are just personal-gain-seeking beings’ as it considers the investment and social decisions we make today. In his framework, he lays inferences based on his economic experiments that focus on tapping human wealth to solve the poverty problems. In his infamous premise, he writes that “people are both selfless and selfish, and both characters can be used in solving the economic art of poverty.” He posits that capitalism’s primary objective that prevents the world from realizing zero poverty is the goal-based agendum on a selfish pursuit for individual wealth and profits. This notion builds most business on profit maximization objectives with a few charitable organizations that align their intentions to the people’s persuasion. “The majority of the world’s population are eager to eliminate poverty, unemployment, and reduce the effects of climate change that degrades the environment” (Azad, 2012). The author posits that all these can be achieved if social businesses start to think along that line as crucial players in society.
The author defines a just social business as one that aims to solve human problems with zero intentions to issue dividends. He expounds that investors should create business and earn an amount equal to their initial investments; after that, the profits should be channeled into more productive services that can benefit more people. T discourages the application for grants for businesses whose main aim is profit maximization. That way, social enterprises should be self-sustaining and designed to create profits to help more people as possible. In an example, the author gives solutions to both third world and developed countries and blames the systemic economic failures that have tolerated the existence of poverty, unemployment, and environmental destruction as if they are natural calamities beyond the control of humans.
The book teaches on entrepreneurship practices to beat unemployment. He writes that instead of the youth unsuccessfully hunting for limited jobs, a direction and support should be given to them to create their income-generating activities. This can be done by creating a financial equity help to even the most brilliant ideas from poor people. The book clarifies and dismisses the notion of ‘no job, no life’ as it aims to clear the minds of children on being hired in established business rather than them being natural entrepreneurs, a course of action they should focus on.
Even though the conceptual framework provided in the book is logical, the political criticism of capitalism has driven capitalistic economies from giving it a second thought. The recommendations for solving the three issues of poverty, unemployment, and environmental degradation should be for all readers, not selective ideologies aimed at dismissing others’ thoughts. The author concludes by stating that the system of a few people getting so wealthy and the majority of the people either working for them or living below the poverty line should be overhauled. Additionally, this book aims at convincing social businesses to change their values into helping most people escape poverty in the objection of the capitalist system in most western countries.
Opinions and Recommendations on Solutions
Introduction
The social problems the world faces today include the climate crisis, poverty, and illiteracy. Another major challenge facing the world is educational development compromises, wildlife and marine conservation issues, and challenges in developing a stable social economy.
General Prospect to Solutions
The fundamental solutions to social problems include providing better education that trains on entrepreneurship skills and creating job opportunities to escape poverty. Investing in education by most countries will see the net illiteracy levels reduced in the world. In such a mind, expansion is likely to achievable, and this can guide people to invent ways to generate income. Proving job-oriented education and the creation of job opportunities will help reduce unemployment levels. Inclusion of the population growth awareness needs to be created in terms of family planning to tame the population growth. These devices and drugs of family planning should be distributed freely, even to the poor in rural villages. In doing so, families will control the number of children their have, leading to limited stretch on the available resources. This goes way too long in eliminating poverty and reducing the overall social problems.
Organization of social awareness programs that abhors procession should be made in public advertisements in both print and electronic media. Sporting activities like street drama should be banned to help solve social problems as they take too much of the population’s time. In line with the reasoning of the United Nations’ objectives to attain sustainable development programs in solving global problems, all states in the world should improve nutrition and develop sustainable agriculture to end hunger, a significant result of poverty. Due to the complexity of these problems, collaborations of countries, private and public institutions are necessary to offer solutions.
Recommendations to Achieve Zero Poverty Levels
The practical solution to social problems is eliminating poverty. Various reports indicate that almost half of the world’s population lives on less than $1 a day with the majority in African states. Regarding social problems, “solving poverty solves half of these problems” (Collins, 2012). Proper education helps one to increase their earning. A UNESCO report states that essential reading and writing skills can help lift over 200 million people out of poverty, and that will reduce the world’s poverty level by 12%. The creation of awareness of poverty should be encouraged in the digital world of social media platforms. These platforms could be used to educate people on poverty escape plans that will enable them to take action into managing the situation. Donations and food aids from developed countries will low poverty numbers could be used to save those in hunger-stricken places, but this should be done in the meantime with long-term solution sin draft. In eliminating poverty, one has to get employed or self-employ. Counties need to create comprehensive employment options through government expenditure that can make them employable. These solutions can alleviate poverty in most situations.
Recommendations to Achieve Zero Unemployment
While it is not possible to attain zero unemployment level, measures should be put to achieve low unemployment rates. Labor organizations need to devise unemployment strategies. “These unemployment policies should be drafted to improve human capital and skills through the provision of stronger incentives that motivates one to look for and accept job offers” (Haussen & Schlegel, 2019). These policies should increase labor mobility and maintain high labor demand to create enough new jobs. Additionally, they should encourage innovation and entrepreneurship skills as ways of self-employment and identification of market gaps to generate new employment opportunities. Generally, these policies should lower employment taxes such as national insurance contributions and stimulate labor demand in private sectors by keeping aggregate demand high to create new job openings. Governments faced with high unemployment rates should involve monetary and fiscal policies that reduce interest rates and taxes to boost aggregate demand for labor. Educational workshops and training facilities should be provided to prevent structural unemployment. A strategy that sets a maximum working week should be introduced in all nations to force employers to hire more workers to reduce unemployment. Countries faced with high unemployment rates should reduce the power of trade unions as they cause real wage unemployment. This is due to their bargaining for wages above the actual market-clearing levels.
Recommendations to Achieve Zero Net Carbon Emissions
In striving for zero environmental impact on the planet earth, care should be taken in dealing with non-degradable polymers such as plastics. Climatic changes should be properly monitored. This can be done by reducing the emission of carbon gases in the air by switching to renewable energy sources while mitigating their effects. “Government agencies need to adopt policies that protect the natural capital, by effecting protective measures of the habitats, shared water bodies, and elimination of deforestation” (Garcia Fernández, 2015). These improve the soil management of waste as well as protecting water bodies from pollution through diversity preservation. Industries should preserve the environment by sourcing their raw materials responsible for promoting sustainable consumption.
In solving environmental degradation, most states should dump fossil energies for clean energies of wind and solar. This is because atomic, oil, and coal power generators pollute the environment and increase the greenhouse effects through the emission of carbon into the atmosphere, renewable energy sources are very efficient. They could go a long way into saving the planet earth from climate change effects. Waste management should be a priority and an invention to recycle waste, increase awareness on disposal activities, and reduce food wastage. All these actions shall lead to zero net land degradation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, eradicating social problems and attaining Mohammed’s world of three zeros requires dedication towards developing a global sustainable education, employment, food security, and poverty eradication systems.
References
Azad, A. (2012). Book Review ‘A World of Three Zeros’ by Muhammad Yunus. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2003942
Collins, P. (2012). Governance and The Eradication of Poverty: An Introduction to The Special Issue. Public Administration and Development, 32(4-5), 337-344. doi: 10.1002/pad.1640
Garcia Fernández, C. (2015). Climate change and economic crisis: How to reduce both. Nómadas. Revista Crítica De Ciencias Sociales Y Jurídicas, 40(4). doi: 10.5209/rev_noma. 2013.v40. n4.48342
Haussen, T., & Schlegel, M. (2019). Unemployment reduction through solo self-employment: A gender question? Empirical Economics. doi: 10.1007/s00181-019-01754-w