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It's the unreasonable people who really shape the future
By Wu Jiayin |
May 23, 2009, Saturday
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Print Edition
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"THE Power of Unreasonable People" by John Elkington and Pamela Hartigan is devoted to social entrepreneurs - a group that contrasts sharply with traditional business entrepreneurs.
While most of the latter emphasize maximizing profit despite the negative impacts their business may have on the environment and society, social entrepreneurs try to develop new business models that will benefit society in the long run.
George Bernard Shaw once said, "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
Sharing the same insight, the authors believe social entrepreneurs, with their ability to see opportunities where others may perceive problems, will be an important force in addressing the challenges of environmental pollution, poverty, pandemics, etc.
"Their (social entrepreneurs') endeavors are transformative, not palliative, with the power to catalyze and shape the future," note the authors.
They cite the example of Barefoot College created by Bunker Roy.
Though born into an elite family in India, Roy chose not to pursue a prestigious business career after graduation from college. Instead, he set up the Barefoot College in 1972 to serve for the poor who lack a formal education.
For years, Barefoot College has educated doctors, teachers, engineers, and many other professionals.
It also gives night school training to 3,000 poor Indian children who are either working or doing family chores during the daytime.
The capacity and competence of the barefoot graduates are amazing.
Engineers who trained at the college equipped it with solar electricity to make it the only solar-electrified college in India. Engineers from the college also developed and installed advanced water pumps for poor people, a project some experts found daunting.
No wonder the comment of famed micro-lender Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner: "Once the poor can unleash their energy and creativity, poverty will disappear quickly."
And social entrepreneurs will certainly play an important role in helping tap into the potential of poor people.
For all the accomplishments and aspirations of social entrepreneurs, they represent only a tiny effort in the world.
Elkington and Hartigan observe objectively that given the looming danger of "radical disruptions," including global warming, the energy of crisis, poverty, terrorism, etc, it is unrealistic to depend on social entrepreneurs alone.
That could not be more true.
Social entrepreneur Yang Guixing once told Shanghai Daily that although his company is a qualified e-garbage recycling and treatment company, it has to struggle to survive and try to win business from illegal e-garbage treatment factories.
Yang is general manager of Shanghai Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Recycling Center.
Illegal e-garbage treatment factories attract customers by offering to pay for the e-garbage they recycle.
But Yang's company finds it difficult to compete - the proper treatment of e-garbage is costly.
By contrast, illegal factories simply make profits by extracting valuable heavy metals while discarding the poisonous residue, thus causing serious environmental pollution.
To change the situation requires not only preferential government policies but also the cooperation of business and individuals who discard e-garbage, Yang said.
That echoes Elkington and Hartigan's call for the whole world community's efforts to help social entrepreneurs do more in a better and faster way.
As they note, without enlightened governance as well as the support from business and financial institutions, social entrepreneurs can hardly make major changes alone.
While most of the latter emphasize maximizing profit despite the negative impacts their business may have on the environment and society, social entrepreneurs try to develop new business models that will benefit society in the long run.
George Bernard Shaw once said, "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
Sharing the same insight, the authors believe social entrepreneurs, with their ability to see opportunities where others may perceive problems, will be an important force in addressing the challenges of environmental pollution, poverty, pandemics, etc.
"Their (social entrepreneurs') endeavors are transformative, not palliative, with the power to catalyze and shape the future," note the authors.
They cite the example of Barefoot College created by Bunker Roy.
Though born into an elite family in India, Roy chose not to pursue a prestigious business career after graduation from college. Instead, he set up the Barefoot College in 1972 to serve for the poor who lack a formal education.
For years, Barefoot College has educated doctors, teachers, engineers, and many other professionals.
It also gives night school training to 3,000 poor Indian children who are either working or doing family chores during the daytime.
The capacity and competence of the barefoot graduates are amazing.
Engineers who trained at the college equipped it with solar electricity to make it the only solar-electrified college in India. Engineers from the college also developed and installed advanced water pumps for poor people, a project some experts found daunting.
No wonder the comment of famed micro-lender Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner: "Once the poor can unleash their energy and creativity, poverty will disappear quickly."
And social entrepreneurs will certainly play an important role in helping tap into the potential of poor people.
For all the accomplishments and aspirations of social entrepreneurs, they represent only a tiny effort in the world.
Elkington and Hartigan observe objectively that given the looming danger of "radical disruptions," including global warming, the energy of crisis, poverty, terrorism, etc, it is unrealistic to depend on social entrepreneurs alone.
That could not be more true.
Social entrepreneur Yang Guixing once told Shanghai Daily that although his company is a qualified e-garbage recycling and treatment company, it has to struggle to survive and try to win business from illegal e-garbage treatment factories.
Yang is general manager of Shanghai Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Recycling Center.
Illegal e-garbage treatment factories attract customers by offering to pay for the e-garbage they recycle.
But Yang's company finds it difficult to compete - the proper treatment of e-garbage is costly.
By contrast, illegal factories simply make profits by extracting valuable heavy metals while discarding the poisonous residue, thus causing serious environmental pollution.
To change the situation requires not only preferential government policies but also the cooperation of business and individuals who discard e-garbage, Yang said.
That echoes Elkington and Hartigan's call for the whole world community's efforts to help social entrepreneurs do more in a better and faster way.
As they note, without enlightened governance as well as the support from business and financial institutions, social entrepreneurs can hardly make major changes alone.
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