“The most powerful tool to lift families out of extreme poverty is to grant micro-loans to women.”

“Democratization of commerce is based on everyone having the right to exercise their roles as micro consumers, micro producers, micro entrepreneurs, micro investors, and micro innovators. Access to information removes the first impediment to building this brave, new world. Information asymmetry has always been at the heart of poverty.”

“Orthodox tools based on a normal distribution therefore fail exactly where they are most needed, at the extremes.”

“We’ve set two goals: ending extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity. How are we going to get there? Generally speaking, it divides into three main categories. One is economic growth. If you look at the greatest achievements in lifting people out of poverty, China, almost through brute economic growth, lifted 600 million people out of poverty. The second big block is investment in human beings. In other words, making sure that the poorest people have some kind of income or sustenance to be able to consume and, potentially, participate in economic growth. And a third category is social protection.”

“The rules of the game must be changed so that loans are not granted on purely economic considerations and that the loan “conditionalities” henceforth aim at advancing the wellbeing of the populations concerned.”

“Clearly, the power of the lender to command interest has nothing to do with the use to which the loan is put. Whether the borrower uses it to build a factory or acquire a dwelling house, whether he spends it on tools of his trade or gambling on horses, will make no difference… The coupling of interest with capital has been an unfortunate error prolific in its progeny of falsehoods. It arises from confusing the power to exact payment for loans with the use to which some of the loans are put… It gives to the idea of a loan a quality it should not possess, a suggestion of productiveness and of social benefit, obscuring the indebtedness and dependence which the loan so plainly advertises.”

“One tool that is used most and has the greatest misuse of power is looks, and another tool that is used least and has the least desire for power is wisdom.”

“Reflection is one of the most underused yet powerful tools for success.”

“Prayer may just be the most powerful tool mankind has.”
~Blink”

“Power is based on the control of communication and information, be it the macro-power of the state and media corporations or the micro-power of organizations of all sorts.”