Accepting Quote by Muhammad Yunus
“We create institutions and policies on the basis of the way we make assumptions about us and others. We accept the fact that we will always have poor people around us. So we have had poor people around us. If we had believed that poverty is unacceptable to us, and that it should not belong to a civilized society, we would have created appropriate institutions and policies to create a poverty-free world.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Interview on Poverty and Institutions, 2005
We design systems based on our assumptions about humanity, often accepting poverty as inevitable, which limits our drive to eradicate it.
In simple terms: Our assumptions shape institutions and keep poverty.
Key Takeaway
Reexamine assumptions to design inclusive policies.
Themes
poverty
institutions
assumptions
social justice
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
analytical
thought‑provoking
When to use this quote
- government budgeting
- NGO program design
- urban planning
- education reform
Key Concepts
Economic inequality
social contract
policy design
Questions to Reflect On
- What assumptions about the poor do we hold?
- How can we shift societal norms to reject poverty?
A Different Perspective
If assumptions are deeply entrenched, change may face resistance and inertia.
![“I strongly believe that we can create a poverty-free world, if we want to… In that kind of world, [the] only place you can see poverty is in the museum. When school children will be on a tour of the poverty museum, they will be horrified to see the misery and indignity of human beings. They will…” quote by Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/6b7/muhammad-yunus-2158_believe_i-strongly-believe-that-we-can-create-a_2616379.jpg)
