traditional schemes for reducing poverty is based on giving them fish, and sometimes teach them to fish. But this is not enough. Companies, through its responsibility to society, can and should do something more: Increased fishing.
The MDGs, the Global Compact and its omissions
Much has been said recently of the Millennium Development Goals, on the occasion of the recent Summit in New York, which analyzed the achievements, shortcomings and to not look bad, there were many commitments (a day should create a supranational institution that has the power to ensure compliance, at least that these commitments will be more serious and sincere). We will not go into the details of the outcome of the Summit and the reader can read the extensive media coverage it has generated.
The MDGs are goals that must be satisfied mainly the public sector. Goals include aggregate, to be achieved before 2015, to eradicate poverty, infant mortality, discrimination, maternal health, environmental protection, reduction of certain diseases. It has a purpose, apparently added at the last minute, as they say "other issues, "calling for" a global partnership for development "that has a goal, 8A can be interpreted as an indirect call to social inclusion (Develop further an open trading and financial system, rule-based, predictable and nondiscriminatory ....) Except for this latter task, mainly correspond to other governments, although some large companies perform actions aimed at achieving other goals. Maybe they achieve certain goals (global) poverty reduction, although not at the country level, thanks to strong progress in China and India, who have (or had) a large proportion of the world's poor and who have made great progress.
The Global Compact seeks supposedly fill the gap left open by the MDGs, aimed specifically at companies. It commits signatory companies to certain standards of conduct in the areas of human rights, forced and child labor, environment and corruption but do not worry about the role of business in reducing poverty. It is to "do no evil", without bothering to propose "do good." Are statements of good intentions, monitoring compliance and without consequences for failure (as long as reporting what is done or not done, once every three years one can remain a member of that community.) There is very little overlap between the MDGs and Global Compact, but a huge gap.
In some Latin American countries have implemented programs CCT (Bolsa Familia in Brazil, Oportunidades in Mexico, for example), which provide subsidies to poor families in exchange for children attending school and access to preventive medicine, are a palliative, reducing the numbers of people who are below certain income levels, but do not reduce poverty in the broader definition we have given above. These are programs of poverty alleviation, not poverty reduction. What happens when children grow up and finish school? Do you find work? Do you have an opportunity to participate in economic activity?
development assistance plays a key role, but out of poverty with employment, with the use of the productive capacity of the individual, not handouts. Obviously with health and education as prerequisites.
But the MDGs and Global Compact are very short, ignore the individual and entrepreneurship, are based on the assumption that we must "give fish" instead of "teaching to fish" and what is Most importantly, "there fishing." What happens when many have learned to fish if there are no fish?
The company and its potential for poverty reduction
The company's potential to contribute to poverty reduction, empowerment of the individual, that he was fishing, is virtually ignored in the MDGs and the Global Compact. Have
out China and India to millions of people out of poverty through development assistance or through donations? NO. The poor have escaped poverty thanks to the use of production capacity, thanks to the projects, thanks to private initiative. How ironic that the communist country have used instruments supposedly capitalist and socialist not to reduce poverty.
While poverty reduction is not, in principle, corporate responsibility, can make important contributions to it, which in the long term benefit, through the virtuous circle of development. Hence, in some cases, this may be part of their social responsibility.
To this we must correct the prevalent error that poverty is measured only as purchasing power. It is a much broader concept. As I said the pastoral letter of 1986 from the U.S. bishops in paragraph 188: "The principle of participation leads to the conviction that the most appropriate and fundamental solutions to poverty are those that allow people to take control of their own lives. Because poverty is not simply a lack of financial resources. Involves a more fundamental kind of deprivation, denial to participate fully in economic, social and political life of society ... .. . " This is the definition of poverty that thirteen years later popularized Nobel laureate Amartya Sen in his book Development as Freedom, 1999. According to these criteria, has just launched a broader measure of poverty, based on access to basic services, including health and education. Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative ( http://www.ophi.org.uk/ ).
How do we do? Already said John Paul II in his encyclical Centesimus Annus, 1991: (58) ... .... Indeed, it is not superfluous to give, but of helping entire peoples which are excluded or marginalized to enter into the circle of economic development and human . This will be possible not only using the superfluous that our world produces in abundance, but above all a change .... The production models and consumption ... ...
Count is here the company can play an important role. This is a call for inclusive business, which eleven years later popularized by Prahalad in his book " Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid ", although originally called for the holding of an underserved market through products and services This concept was later extended to economic inclusion.
MDGs and Global Compact to solving the problem of poverty are not in balance, not stand, even with conditional cash transfers. need the third leg Participation in economic activity, which may be provided by the inclusive business (which in some ways are implied in Goal 8 of the MDGs calls for public-private partnerships to promote economic and social development, but are mostly aimed at business-government collaboration and not have achieved much.)
is through work, employment, empowerment constituted by participation in economic activity, the inclusion in the circle of exchange, that a man achieves his dignity, as does the reduction of poverty in the sense wide. This does mean that companies are key players, which makes lack leadership, with the support of governments and civil society. Inclusive business, or in the broadest sense, the activities that contribute to reducing inequality, where companies do not see the poor as a market, but as providers of goods and services, as partners, are one of many instruments which can be incorporated into low-income groups in economic activity.
responsible practices in business community support, employment, fair wages, ownership, acquisitions and general business inclusive, constitute the third leg of the program to reduce poverty. is where they are taught to fish and increase fishing.
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