From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
The myth of women's inferiority is the product of a social system that has produced and fostered countless other inequalities, inferiorities, degradations, and discriminations. The ripple effects of the creation of these systems continue to this day – to the point where they are deeply embedded into society.
Our economic measures aren't wrong, they're incomplete. Smith noted that a successful economic system is one where everyone who participates can flourish. That's not about equality of outcome, but about the fact that everyone has the ability to flourish, equality of opportunity.
Increasingly heavy-handed purges of crime will simply move perpetrators into different industries, increase the severity of crime, or create extremist groups. There is very little more dangerous in the world than individuals with nothing to lose.
I think it's down to what Jeremy Bentham said which is, '…the question is not can they reason? Or can they talk? …But can they suffer?'
Open-source evidence is essentially public information available to anyone and can be traced back to its original source. We've always maintained transparency in our methodologies and the step-by-step processes we employ.
The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer, and the market doesn't even things out. It takes massive state intervention through public services, health services, social housing and income redistribution to even begin to equalise or reduce inequality.
Architecture has the power to democratize space - to create environments where all people, regardless of their background, can participate in civic life.
There has been a pathetic failure of governments to invest in educating people about the rights that they hold and enjoy; I suspect because if people knew their rights, they would claim them and put the governments of the world under pressure.
I'm constantly bemused when I hear about some amazing energy or agricultural company that is for profit, but works with low-income people and a non-profit leader says, 'you know Jacqueline, charging people who are poor is immoral…' – you know what else is immoral? 700 million people who have no electricity.
We can prove, with over 150 companies we've invested in – that you can simultaneously create value for the investor, and society. The reality is this- you can create value economically and socially in parallel – there isn't a contradiction.
In my experience, unless you are directly affected by a human rights abuse, you are unlikely to give it a second thought. How many times do you draw breath a day? It's about 22,000 times – you don't think about it until you can't. That's exactly how most people view human rights- they are generally apathetic and may express some concern or sympathy when they hear about something on the news, but they don't mobilise unless it affects them directly.
These unprecedented floods demand unprecedented assistance.