In the Hungry Spirit, Charles Handy investigates the unintended side effects found in Capitalist Societies and why Capitalism, although superior to Communism and extreme varieties of Socialism, has failed to convince us that it has the complete answer to our desire for progress. He also explores our own desire for a purpose in our own lives and how ideally, we should attempt to leave the world a little better.
He states throughout, how money is the means of life and not the point of it, and then explores this statement through looking at literature and other case studies. He writes about how self sufficiency is an idle dream for inevitably we are all dependant on each other and looks at "Proper Selfishness" and how it is actually an optimistic philosophy because it believes we are ultimately decent people.
"If you believe that most people are capable and can be relied upon, they will often live up to your expectations. Optimists are always prey to disappointment but life without hope is dismal."
Video: Positive Deviance
A collection of videos on Positive Deviance.
Positive Deviance (PD) is an approach to behavioral and social change based on the observation that in every community there are individuals or groups of people (so called Positive Deviants) whose behaviours and strategies enable them to find better solutions to problems than their peers even though they have access to the same resources and face similar challenges.
In the international development and health sectors, PD has been used to address issues as diverse as childhood malnutrition, neo-natal mortality, girl trafficking, school drop-out, female genital mutilation (FGM), MRSA infections in hospitals and HIV/AIDS.
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