PEACE VS. PROFIT?
The word “Profit” derives from the Latin, meaning “benefit”. If an action benefits only one or a few, does it cause harm to the remainder? This is a question that is becoming more relevant each day, where obscene profits are made without regard to their consequences.
There are a few examples of profits being made by decision-makers who pay more than lip service to those who are affected by their actions. One of these won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, but whose name is not on the list of the World’s richest, nor on the lips of millions in countries other than Bangladesh and who is the subject of a cover article in Ode magazine’s December 2006 issue, with the title “Turning Poverty Into Peace”.
His name is Muhammad Yunus and in Bangladesh he is making a huge impact on bringing people out of poverty with dignity. Head of the economics department at Chittagong University, he “went to villages and worked with people who were starving, lent them money from his own pocket-sometimes less than a dollar-and told them to pay it back whenever they could.” This grew into an institution, Grameen Bank, which followed the principles of providing micro-loans, and which has shown a 98 percentage of loans repaid on time, unlike other commercial banks. Did the bank make a profit? Of course, but that was not the driving force behind its efforts. First and foremost was eradication of poverty and providing an instrument to promote sustainable peace in afflicted areas.
Peace. Is it defined by “Cold Wars”, as the prevailing world view appears to believe, or is it living in harmony with all peoples of all nations? The Christian Bible speaks of “beating swords into plowshares”. Until leaders of nations and their followers recognize that they are moving the world into self-destruct by their actions or inactions, there will be no peace. Until multinational corporations accept responsibility for the results of their actions or inactions, there will be no peace.
If we follow the examples of Yunus, Gandhi, Jesus and others who not only spoke words of peace, but lived it by their actions, we, our governments and corporations will start thinking differently and having profit only one of a set of benign motives to justify their occupying space on this earth.
Yes, peace can be profitable if we treat people the way we wish to be treated.
Emily Dale
There are a few examples of profits being made by decision-makers who pay more than lip service to those who are affected by their actions. One of these won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, but whose name is not on the list of the World’s richest, nor on the lips of millions in countries other than Bangladesh and who is the subject of a cover article in Ode magazine’s December 2006 issue, with the title “Turning Poverty Into Peace”.
His name is Muhammad Yunus and in Bangladesh he is making a huge impact on bringing people out of poverty with dignity. Head of the economics department at Chittagong University, he “went to villages and worked with people who were starving, lent them money from his own pocket-sometimes less than a dollar-and told them to pay it back whenever they could.” This grew into an institution, Grameen Bank, which followed the principles of providing micro-loans, and which has shown a 98 percentage of loans repaid on time, unlike other commercial banks. Did the bank make a profit? Of course, but that was not the driving force behind its efforts. First and foremost was eradication of poverty and providing an instrument to promote sustainable peace in afflicted areas.
Peace. Is it defined by “Cold Wars”, as the prevailing world view appears to believe, or is it living in harmony with all peoples of all nations? The Christian Bible speaks of “beating swords into plowshares”. Until leaders of nations and their followers recognize that they are moving the world into self-destruct by their actions or inactions, there will be no peace. Until multinational corporations accept responsibility for the results of their actions or inactions, there will be no peace.
If we follow the examples of Yunus, Gandhi, Jesus and others who not only spoke words of peace, but lived it by their actions, we, our governments and corporations will start thinking differently and having profit only one of a set of benign motives to justify their occupying space on this earth.
Yes, peace can be profitable if we treat people the way we wish to be treated.
Emily Dale
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