Muhammad Yunus: The Shortcomings of Economic Theories and Systems

The reason we created so much problem around us because we stipulated our world in a very wrong way.

We created a conceptual framework of our economy, our world in a wrong way.

We misinterpreted human being into the theory in a way it defies the real human being.

For example, we have interpreted human beings in the world of economics as a single-minded person who pursues profit.

That's all he does in a business world.

And I try to point out human beings are not single dimensional thing.

All they do in their lifetime, just pursue money.

Money pursuit is important, but it's not the only thing a human being is capable of.

Chasing money is not our life mission.

Not only we became money chaser, we became obsessed with money.

Sometimes money becomes our addiction.

We don't know why you're making money, but we keep on making money.

And I kept telling that, I understand if you want to make $1 million, but I don't understand why you do $20 million, why you want to do $1 billion, and what you want to do with it, how you want to use it.

Making money is a means, it's very clear.

But making money doesn't sound right when you say it's an end.

Today, making money is a means, making money is an end, because of the structure we built.

I said, if you have interpreted human being in the right way, we'll place a person who is a multidimensional.

He's selfish.

At the same time, he's selfless.

Both of the qualities makes a human being.

So you discard the selfless part and create a selfish being and put it in the economy, and we create a whole hodgepodge of the economy and make disasters of the society, create all kinds of problems for us.

If you had introduced both sides, we would have been much balanced society.

The world would be much balanced.

So in a selfish business, everything is for me, nothing for others.

In a selfless business, everything is for others, nothing for me.