When I travel, I make certain that I spend at least half of my time in the field. You have to get out to meet people that are in poverty, that are looking to improve their lives. That's something that you can't read in books.
Interpretation
Experiencing life directly is crucial for understanding poverty and making a difference.
James Wolfensohn emphasizes the importance of firsthand experiences in understanding and addressing poverty. He argues that while books can provide valuable information, true comprehension and empathy towards those facing poverty can only be gained through real interactions and engagements in the field, allowing one to connect with individuals striving for better lives.
In practice
Using this quote in a speech about the importance of fieldwork in social programs.
In this time of globalization, with all its advantages, the poor are the most vulnerable to having their traditions, relationships and knowledge and skills ignored and denigrated, and experiencing development with a great sense of trauma, loss and social disconnectedness.
The only way really to influence countries, in terms of poverty, is to get them to change their policies and get them to understand what the issues are.
Too many of the conflicts which are caused today are caused by the problems that emerge from people who are in poverty.
So the first thing you need to do about conflict is to prevent it, and the best way of preventing it is by dealing with the question of poverty.
The Bank had never used the word 'corruption' at all until I got there, and the reason for that was, as the general counsel pointed out to me, that quite a number of our shareholders represented were not immune from corruption in their governments.
Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are ideally set up to understand stories.
If G20 leaders are serious about sustainable growth and job creation and want to stem migration flows and promote long-term stability, education is an essential investment.
Reading fiction not only develops our imagination and creativity, it gives us the skills to be alone. It gives us the ability to feel empathy for people we've never met, living lives we couldn't possibly experience for ourselves, because the book puts us inside the character's skin.
Just like becoming an expert in wine, you learn by drinking it, the best you can afford.
Consequently he who wishes to attain to human perfection, must therefore first study Logic, next the various branches of Mathematics in their proper order, then Physics, and lastly Metaphysics.
There's a disease that young writers are susceptible to, which is, I will do this because I can - hubris, I suppose - without stopping to work out why.
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