Small Change: Why Business Won't Save the World [Paperback]

In his book `Small Change: why business won't save the world', Michael Edwards offers a timely and much needed critique regarding the rise of philanthrocapitalism and the trend to employ business thinking to address societal problems. The central message of the book is that social transformation is not a job to be left to market forces or `the whims of billionaires'. Edwards argues that fundamental problems such as gender inequality, religious oppression or political corruption cannot be solved by employing a market logic. The latter, to give an example, can lead to improvements in agricultural productivity but is not capable of addressing the fundamental issue of land rights. In other words, embracing market thinking can address the symptoms of many societal ills but will not lead to a transformation of their underlying structural causes which are rooted in systems of power.

In his book, Edwards makes four core arguments:
* Instead of debating whether or not philanthrocapitalism is a panacea for societal problems or a threat to civil society activism and democracy, it is more useful to identify where business thinking can advance social change and where it can't;
* There is little evidence that the hype surrounding the merits of philanthrocapitalism lives up to what is achieved in practice;
* Applying business thinking on civil society damages the latter, as both are based on very different and largely incompatible values and premises;
* The increasing wealth and power among a select group of unaccountable philanthrocapitalist is unhealthy for democracy

Edwards' writing style is provocative and at times activist which I think may put off some people. Yet, sparking a debate about the merits of philanthrocapitalism obviously requires a degree of provocation. Personally, I very much enjoyed reading this book and feel Edwards should be applauded for his efforts. As such, I recommend it to anyone interested in philantrophy and philanthrocapitalism in particular.

Popular wisdom says that nonprofit entities could achieve reform and efficiency best by acting like for-profits, and that being businesslike is the finest all-purpose path for organizations addressing the world's problems. Social activist Michael Edwards disagrees. In this thoughtful, articulate argument, he enumerates - without ever slipping into polemic ¬- the pitfalls in that line of thinking. He explains how nonprofits develop their own methods, and how vulnerable their processes are to inflexible thinking. He discusses with clarity and rigor the likely role business tactics could play in solving pressing issues, and he examines how capitalism and philanthropy do and do not work together. At first, this fascinating discussion seems contrarian, but it gains common sense as it goes along. getAbstract highly recommends this book to those who want to know how capitalism and philanthropy unite, to those who are interested in changing the world (or even the street) and, of course, to anyone with billions who wants to shift the social dynamic.

In the preface to this short and thought-provoking book, author Michael Edwards suggests; "With America having lost its economic senses under the first MBA president, George W. Bush, and started to regain them under the community organizer who replaced him, Barak H.Obama, it seems appropriate to ask whether America or any other country will be better placed to solve its problems through the application of more business thinking."

' Small Change' explores the shortcomings of philanthropy and how it might be re-designed ultimately to obviate the need for it altogether.

In an earlier book, the author first coined the rather clumsy phrase `philanthropcapitalism'. It embraces the activities of the world's wealthiest people - people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett - who believe that traditional ways of solving social problems do not work, so business thinking and market forces should be added to the mix.

While acknowledging that massive philanthropic injections of funds can save lives and educate many millions, Michael Edward argues they do not bring about `social transformation' - an overhaul of the systems and power relations that have created the inequalities in health and education in the first place. As such, big business is seen as part of the problem not the solution, with philanthropy tackling the symptoms, but not the causes.

Enter social enterprise - with more explicit social and environmental objectives - and other blends of business values and human values, each to be assessed by its potential to truly transform society and change existing power structures. From workforce control to empowerment, from top-down to bottom-up development and change, from competition to co-operation between companies. It would be interesting to assess how far social enterprises in the UK support or challenge the status quo; a new dimension for measuring social return on investment perhaps?

In just over 100 pages, Michael Edwards has tackled a massive subject, and tackled it well. Any limitations in coverage are those arising from the author's CV - an Englishman who has worked with international development agencies, now living and working in New York. But, despite there being little on development issues in the UK, there is still a lot to interest students of social enterprise everywhere. The book was first part-published in 2008 and the global economy is now much-changed. Arguably, those changes make this book more important than ever.