A Selfish Plan to Change the World: Finding Big Purpose in Big Problems

Acclaimed social activist, filmmaker, and musician Justin Dillon—founder of Slavery Footprint and Made In A Free World—takes readers on a journey from sweatshops in India to punk rock concerts in Dublin to reveal that helping others is how we help ourselves. Justin Dillon was a successful world-touring musician who, on a trip through Russia, was dumbstruck to discover first-hand that slavery exists today. With no experience and little more than a desire to do something, he managed to create global awareness with films and launch global action with online platforms like Slavery Footprint and Made in a Free World, highlighting the embedded and often invisible presence of slavery in nearly every aspect of the global economy. These platforms have been used by millions, enabling the passage of laws prohibiting slavery, disrupting illicit commercial activities in the marketplace, and ultimately freeing thousands of kids from human trafficking. And now he provides readers with a blueprint for doing something similar, for improving their own lives by changing those of others. In this riveting, utterly unique book, Justin helps readers recognize that working to transform the world is in some ways a selfish act, because helping others helps us by giving us meaning. And that’s okay. Building upon stories of changed lives from around the world, A Selfish Plan to Change the World provides a step-by-step guide for alleviating the poverty of meaning—by fighting others’ poverty of means.