Comments on: Social Business and Limits to Growth http://steadystaterevolution.org/social-business-and-limits-to-growth/ Fighting for a Sustainable World with a Steady State Economy Tue, 01 May 2012 16:16:22 +0000 hourly 1 By: Sharon Ede http://steadystaterevolution.org/social-business-and-limits-to-growth/comment-page-1/#comment-1114 Sharon Ede Sat, 28 Aug 2010 07:40:17 +0000 http://steadystaterevolution.org/?p=2728#comment-1114 This is a critical point that Donnie makes - if we are not addressing overall limits as well as fairness in distribution, then we are going to short-change those who are already the most vulnerable. Scenario: who will (and in fact already does!) get hurt if the price of staple foods goes through the roof as a result of pressure on resources through diminishing supply (esp when you factor in climate change, which along with peak oil, is in fact our biggest FOOD SECURITY issue) and increasing demand? The case of those working on behalf of the world's most disadvantaged (Sachs, Bono, Yunus et al) would be strengthen if they would accept/recognise and articulate the biophysical limits of the world. Without bringing limits into the equation, its ultimately false hope. One of my favourite quotes on this is from Herman Daly, intellectual father of ecological economics: 'When an overloaded ship sinks all aboard drown — even if the overload is justly distributed and efficiently allocated!' This is a critical point that Donnie makes – if we are not addressing overall limits as well as fairness in distribution, then we are going to short-change those who are already the most vulnerable. Scenario: who will (and in fact already does!) get hurt if the price of staple foods goes through the roof as a result of pressure on resources through diminishing supply (esp when you factor in climate change, which along with peak oil, is in fact our biggest FOOD SECURITY issue) and increasing demand? The case of those working on behalf of the world’s most disadvantaged (Sachs, Bono, Yunus et al) would be strengthen if they would accept/recognise and articulate the biophysical limits of the world. Without bringing limits into the equation, its ultimately false hope. One of my favourite quotes on this is from Herman Daly, intellectual father of ecological economics: ‘When an overloaded ship sinks all aboard drown — even if the overload is justly distributed and efficiently allocated!’

]]> By: Joshua http://steadystaterevolution.org/social-business-and-limits-to-growth/comment-page-1/#comment-784 Joshua Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:35:15 +0000 http://steadystaterevolution.org/?p=2728#comment-784 Brian, Thanks for your comment. I think the micro-loan idea can be a very sociall-minded, "free-market" based aid in eliminating poverty. However, I also hold to the belief that the free market alone will not solve poverty. In fact, a free market economy attached to a growth-driven economy will continue to increase poverty and the wealth gap. So, I applaud your work, but I do so with a caveat: it is one of many things we must do to work towards eliminating poverty, inequality, and striving for social justice. Cheers, Joshua Brian,

Thanks for your comment. I think the micro-loan idea can be a very sociall-minded, “free-market” based aid in eliminating poverty. However, I also hold to the belief that the free market alone will not solve poverty. In fact, a free market economy attached to a growth-driven economy will continue to increase poverty and the wealth gap. So, I applaud your work, but I do so with a caveat: it is one of many things we must do to work towards eliminating poverty, inequality, and striving for social justice.

Cheers,
Joshua

]]> By: Brian Keen http://steadystaterevolution.org/social-business-and-limits-to-growth/comment-page-1/#comment-783 Brian Keen Wed, 17 Mar 2010 06:17:32 +0000 http://steadystaterevolution.org/?p=2728#comment-783 Many interesting points but there's lots of good news in the microloan sector - I'd like to draw your attention to the embryonic yet already highly successful MicroLoan Foundation Autralia. We are proud that our first office opened in Mulanje, southern Malawi in May 2009 and already is fully operational with 2 lending officers servicing over 500 individual loans to women living in the rural areas of the 10th poorest country of the world. These women look after more than 2,000 dependants including 250 orphans. They have set up a myriad little businesses from baking, to brewing, to chicken sales, to knitting, to selling potatoes, to making fritters to even running a hair salon. The average loan at our Mulanje office is just $80, but the average savings for each client is now up to $15. Profits made are used by the women to support their families be it to put more food on the table, send their kids to school, improve their basic medical care, or just stop the leaks in their mud huts when the rainy season starts. We only help those that want to help themselves, and we are proud that we offer a “hand up, not a hand out” And, if the poor could eradicate poverty for themselves, then we wouldn’t need to provide so much international aid, and our children might even benefit from the new demand from developing countries in much the way we are benefitting from China’s determination to raise its poor out of poverty. Oh… and by the way, 100% of all our loans to date in Mulanje have been repaid, so that money is available to the next borrower. Brian Keen Chairman & Founder MicroLoan Foundation Australia Many interesting points but there’s lots of good news in the microloan sector – I’d like to draw your attention to the embryonic yet already highly successful MicroLoan Foundation Autralia.
We are proud that our first office opened in Mulanje, southern Malawi in May 2009 and already is fully operational with 2 lending officers servicing over 500 individual loans to women living in the rural areas of the 10th poorest country of the world.
These women look after more than 2,000 dependants including 250 orphans.
They have set up a myriad little businesses from baking, to brewing, to chicken sales, to knitting, to selling potatoes, to making fritters to even running a hair salon. The average loan at our Mulanje office is just $80, but the average savings for each client is now up to $15.
Profits made are used by the women to support their families be it to put more food on the table, send their kids to school, improve their basic medical care, or just stop the leaks in their mud huts when the rainy season starts. We only help those that want to help themselves, and we are proud that we offer a “hand up, not a hand out”
And, if the poor could eradicate poverty for themselves, then we wouldn’t need to provide so much international aid, and our children might even benefit from the new demand from developing countries in much the way we are benefitting from China’s determination to raise its poor out of poverty.
Oh… and by the way, 100% of all our loans to date in Mulanje have been repaid, so that money is available to the next borrower.
Brian Keen
Chairman & Founder
MicroLoan Foundation Australia

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