Yunus: Time to undo the wrong things

A crisis is a terrible thing to waste, shrewd financial investors often say while trying to rake a fortune from the rebound after market crashes.

Muhammad Yunus, father of microfinance, appears to agree with the investment gurus as well. But rather than seeking to enrich himself, he reckons the ongoing financial storm as an opportunity to build a new framework for dealing with perennial problems like food, energy and environmental crises.

"We all agree this is the worst crisis, but I also see its as a tremendous opportunity," the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner said at the opening ceremony of the Global Think Tank Summit in Beijing yesterday. "This is a lifetime opportunity to undo the things we have done wrong."