Facebook co-founder and Ceo Mark Zuckerberg is currently basking in the spotlight after receiving an honorary doctor of laws degree. Zuckerberg finally got his Harvard degree, 13 Years after dropping out. According to his Facebook profile, he left Harvard in May 2004.
The 33-year-old billionaire was nostalgic about his days at the university. He even visited his old dorm room. The caption of the picture he posted, together with his parents, read: "Mom, I always told you I'd come back and get my degree."
A captivating speech
Zuckerberg inspired his fellow newest graduates to be ambitious in their endeavors and to invent projects that cluster people for the general benefit of society.
He said, “When our parents graduated, a sense of purpose reliably came from your job, your church, your community. But today, technology and automation are eliminating many jobs. Membership in a lot of communities has been declining. A lot people are feeling disconnected and depressed, and are trying to fill a void in their lives.”
The Facebook CEO said that it was the time for the current generation to define a “social contract.” He urged everyone to explore ideas such as worldwide basic income and devise ways to provide healthcare and childcare through means that aren’t tangled to an employer.
According to Washington Post, Zuckerberg, 33, is the youngest person to deliver a Harvard commencement speech.
He electrified the crowd by stating: “We may have taken different roads to get here — especially if you came all the way from the quad — but today I want to share what I’ve learned about our generation and the world we are building together.”
He emphasized the themes of inclusiveness, equality and opportunity while urging graduates of his alma mater not to be afraid of taking chances.
The Facebook CEO informed the new graduates that they belong to the same generation dubbed as the Millennials. He said that the current generation faces a common challenge of inequality, disillusionment and loss of jobs due to automation.
Emerging social contract
Zuckerberg stated that opportunity is hampered by “a level of wealth inequality that hurts everyone” and that it should be addressed as a social problem.
He said, "Right now our society is way over-indexed on rewarding people who are successful."
He further added: "There is something wrong with our system when I can leave here and make billions of dollars in 10 years while millions of students can't even afford to pay off their loans, let alone start a business."
Zuckerberg urged the present generation to find creative solutions to tackle social problems. He elicited the newly graduated students of the need to define a new social contract.
