A World of Economic Do-Gooders

By Matthew Wheeland, AlterNet
Posted on June 24, 2005, Printed on June 25, 2005
http://www.alternet.org/story/22302/

Too often progressives reject the world of business as inherently corrupt or tainted. Even worse, we will often ignore it entirely, recycling the business section of the daily paper unopened. But if the only practices we undertake are shopping for organic produce or buying fair-trade goods from Global Exchange, we're missing a golden opportunity to make a difference.

The message woven throughout "The New Heroes," a four-hour PBS series that begins on June 28, is that well-meaning individuals can create immense change in the world. Each episode visits places where enterprising people have combined business skills with a desire to improve peoples' lives. The results are magnificent and uplifting. In India, Kailash Satyarthi raids a camp to free children and adults enslaved by the international rug trade. In Peru, Albina Ruiz Rios turns garbage into money by helping people start waste-management companies. Closer to home, Mimi Silbert runs the Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco, a cluster of businesses including restaurants and a moving company that give ex-cons a chance to turn their lives around.