The Entrepreneurial Generation’s Answer to Social Change

When we first started talking about creating a new major in Social Entrepreneurship — it is one of the first in the country — there was much concern about whether 18-21 year-olds would have such a career path on their radar. Those in the Entrepreneurial Generation have one prominent characteristic that gave me confidence that such a degree would indeed resonate with them. They distrust large institutions.
They do not trust established religious institutions — they tend to be religious, but strongly favor newly formed non-denominational churches. They do not trust large corporations — they think they are unethical, place too much priority on work above family, and just do not believe that they can provide a stable career path. They do not trust government — they believe that the private sector is much more efficient and effective at solving the world’s problems.
So our Social Entrepreneurship major, which prepares students to tackle social problems through private sector solutions, seems to be taking root very quickly on our campus. Even though it does not even officially become a major until fall, we have several students who have already let us know of their intent to declare the major.
The New York Times ran a column that compared this renewed social energy in today’s youth with that of their parents’ generation in the 1960s — but with a twist:

With the American presidential campaign in full swing, the obvious way to change the world might seem to be through politics.
But growing numbers of young people are leaping into the fray and doing the job themselves.

The big government proponents, which typically includes the New York Times, would tell us that the problems of the world are too big, and far too complex, for any solution outside of massive government intervention. We like to talk about the War on This Problem, and the War on That Problem, as if the only solution is too overwhelm each social problem with massive amounts of money controlled by huge bureaucracies.
But the Times story offers several remarkable examples of today’s young social entrepreneurs saving the world one small problem at a time. And the author Nicholas Kristof goes so far as to end the story with this glimpse into the world the Entrepreneurial Generation hopes to create:

So as we follow the presidential campaign, let’s not forget that the winner isn’t the only one who will shape the world. Only one person can become president of the United States, but there’s no limit to the number of social entrepreneurs who can make this planet a better place.

(Thanks to Sam Davidson of CoolPeopleCare, a great example of today’s young social entrepreneurs, for passing this story along).