I wanted to jot some thoughts down about something I’ve been thinking about lately: social investing.
To me, there are two main markets to solve social problems, and by social problems, I mean problems that exist within a society.
First, there’s the government. The government is an extension of the society, a mechanism whose responsibility is the protection and security of the general population. I’d say that’s as far as their responsibilites should extend.
Second, there’s the market system, or what we might refer to as business. Businesses solve problems, too, but if they’re a smart business, they only solve problems that give them a profit.
So, between the government and the business system, what else is there that solves social problems?
That’s where we need to develop another system, and I’d call that system social investing. Social investing is where members of a society get together to invest their time, money, abilities, etc., into solving problems that arise within the society. The social investing mechanism doesn’t care about turning a profit, they just want to solve the problems.
We’ve been overextending the government. They’re really only supposed to be responisible for the safety and security of the people. And we ask way too much of businesses when we expect them to act as societies benefactores. They’re not. They’re sole responisibility is to the profitablity of the business. And I think that’s the way it should be. But that leaves a big gaping whole in the middle of the two systems. Government extends itself too far into solving problems, and business doesn’t do enough. Thus there exists a need for a new system within the market place of problem solutions.
Social Investing.
It’s not all about money. At the end of the day, more 1s and 0s in your bank account doesn’t really matter. Some day, the jewels will cease to sparkle, and the gold will cease to mean what it once did. And then what are you left with? Where do you invest your skills once you’ve made enough money?
Invest it into your own society. Invest it into your social community.
We don’t have a debt to society, we have a responsibility. There’s a big difference. A debt can be paid. A responsibility is always there. A parent never really ceases to be responsible for her child. A police captain can’t pay enough money to lose his responsibility to the people he protects. The responsibility is always there, and that’s ok.
Once we realize that each of us plays a part in the responsibility of the society we exist in, then we can start looking at how to help that society. In the near future, I’m going to set up a society that does just this. I’ll make it so people can invest their money into solving actual problems that their society faces. An itemized list of things that can be done in order to create a better living environment. I think people would be up for that; I think each of us instinctually looks for ways to be a positive part of the collective.
Social investing is the mechanism that allows for people to invest in their community. And instead of getting money back on their investment, they get back quality of life. They invest in the parks around their house. They invest in the paint needed to paint old houses. They invest in the tools for kids to learn. They invest in a system that prevents crimes before they happen. They invest in a system that enables a high quality of life.
Those are some ideas about a new system I’d like to create. Not sure when it will happen, but it’s never to early to get the idea out there.
invest problem solutions responsibilites social investing
Posted on October 5th, 2007 by daniel
Filed under: Uncategorized