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Globalist Bookshelf > Global Society
The World in 2050
By
Muhammad Yunus | Saturday, February 23, 2008
The Grameen Bank, a microfinance lender and community development bank
started in Bangladesh, works to eradicate poverty worldwide. But what
other goals would Nobel Prize-winning founder Muhammad Yunus like to see
achieved by 2050? In "Creating a World Without Poverty," Mr.
Yunus describes what he sees as the ultimate goals of
globalization.
et me give a wish list of my dream world that I would like to see emerge
by 2050. These are my dreams, but I hope that many of my dreams will
coincide with yours. I am sure I would love many of the dreams on your
list so much that I would make them my dreams too.
Globalized hope
Here is my list:
There will be no poor people, no beggars, no homeless people
High-quality healthcare will be available to everyone infant
mortality and maternal mortality will be things of the past.
and no street children anywhere in the world. Every country will have its
own poverty museum. The global poverty museum will be located in the
country that is the last to come out of poverty.
There will be no passports and no visas for anybody anywhere in the
world. All people will be truly global citizens of equal status.
There will be no war, no war preparations and no military establishment
to fight wars. There will be no nuclear weapons or any other weapons of
mass destruction.
A brighter future
There will be no more incurable diseases, from cancer to AIDS,
anywhere in the world. Disease will become a very rare phenomenon subject
to immediate and effective treatment. High-quality healthcare will be
available to everyone. Infant mortality and maternal mortality will be
things of the past.
There will be a global education system accessible to all from anywhere
in the world. All children will experience fun and excitement in learning
and growing up. All children will grow up as caring and sharing persons,
believing that their own development should be consistent with the
development of others in the world.
Encouraging entrepreneurship
The global economic system will encourage individuals, businesses
All cultures, ethnic groups and religions will flourish to their full
beauty, contributing to the magnificent unified orchestra of human
society.
and institutions to share their prosperity and participate actively in
bringing prosperity to others, making income inequality an irrelevant
issue. "Unemployment" and "welfare" will be unheard of.
Social business will be a substantial part of the business world.
There will be only one global currency. Coins and paper currency will be
gone.
The future of banking
Technology will be available with which all secret bank accounts and
transactions of politicians, government officials, business people,
intelligence agencies, underworld organizations and terrorist groups can
be easily detected and monitored.
State-of-the art financial services of every kind will be available to
every person in the world.
Sustainable lifestyles
All people will be committed to maintaining a sustainable lifestyle
The global economic system will encourage individuals and businesses
to share their prosperity and participate in bringing prosperity to
others.
based on appropriate technologies. Sun, water and wind will be the main
sources of power.
Humans will be able to forecast earthquakes, cyclones, tsunamis and other
natural disasters precisely and in plenty of time to minimize damage and
loss of life.
There will be no discrimination of any kind, whether based on race,
color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, political belief, language,
culture or any other factor.
Universal communication
There will be no need of paper and therefore no need to cut down
trees. There will be biodegradable reusable synthetic papers, in cases
where "paper" is absolutely needed.
Basic connectivity will be wireless and nearly costless.
Preserving cultural identities
Everybody will read and hear everything in his own language.
Technology will make it
All people will be truly global citizens of equal status.
possible for a person to speak, read and write in his own language while
the listener will hear and the reader will read the message in his own
language. Software and gadgets will translate simultaneously as one
speaks or downloads any text. One will be able to watch any TV channel
from anywhere and hear the words in his own language.
All cultures, ethnic groups and religions will flourish to their full
beauty and creativity, contributing to the magnificent unified orchestra
of human society.
All people will enjoy an environment of continuous innovation,
restructuring of institutions and revisiting of concepts and ideas.
Unlimited human potential
All peoples will share a world of peace, harmony and friendship
devoted to expanding the frontiers of human potential.
These are all achievable goals if we work at them. I believe that, as we
proceed through the future, it will be easier and easier to get closer to
our dreams. The difficult part is making up our minds now. As more of us
can agree on what we want to achieve, the quicker we can reach our goals.
Making dreams into realities
We tend to be so busy with our everyday work and
All children will grow up as caring and sharing persons, believing
that their own development should be consistent with the development of
others in the world.
enjoying our lives that we forget to look through the windows of our
lives to find out where we are right now in our journey, and take time
off to reflect where we wish to go ultimately. Once we know where we want
to go, getting there will be so much easier.
Each of us should draw up a wish list of our own to reflect on what
kind of world we would like to see when we retire. Once it is done, we
should hang it on our walls to remind us daily whether we are getting
closer to the destination.
Editor's Note: This feature is adapted from CREATING A WORLD WITHOUT
POVERTY by Muhammad Yunus. Copyright 2007 Public Affairs. Reprinted with
permission of the publisher.
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