Thank you for this excellent column. I have an orphanage and school in Zambia and I know hope to be the most important thing. Once our children know they will get a complete education they then know they can do everything they want with their lives. Not all of them are top students but every single one was has been given the gift of hope so they work as hard as they can and turn their lives around. I have seen this working for years now. I really think the hope is the most important thing we give them.
14
What's old is new again.
Hope: the feeling that the impossible is attainable - re establish it for the poor and things can change.
I am not sarcastic when I say that I am hopeful that one day this nation will rise up and live out its creed. I know ... We have heard that before too. But what else can I be but hopeful when we as a nation deny each other rights and find ways to justify our cruelty.
Research rarely changes our behavior but put words into action, give hope some tangible wings and all of us could and would soar.
Hope: the feeling that the impossible is attainable - re establish it for the poor and things can change.
I am not sarcastic when I say that I am hopeful that one day this nation will rise up and live out its creed. I know ... We have heard that before too. But what else can I be but hopeful when we as a nation deny each other rights and find ways to justify our cruelty.
Research rarely changes our behavior but put words into action, give hope some tangible wings and all of us could and would soar.
12
"You can count how many seeds are in the apple, but not how many apples are in the seed." Ken Kesey
8
A discussion well worth the having!
Cows and goats aren't going to do much to help out here in the US, but other forms of access to residual capital could work (some kind of mandatory stock options on steroids that deliver credible incentive to doubters)........and this may also be a key to the emerging human labor vs robots war.
The education, and interactive cheerleading components of the 'hope equation' are also necessary to maintain the focus of folks whose capacity for 'long term thinking' has been stolen by poverty.
Since the East India Tea Company first proved the global advantages of 'capitalism', the profits from labor have been largely diverted (by hook or by crook) to the big guns.
It may be too late, but we seriously need to insure that ALL MEMBERS of society own a residual piece of the platform that society rests and builds on.
Cows and goats aren't going to do much to help out here in the US, but other forms of access to residual capital could work (some kind of mandatory stock options on steroids that deliver credible incentive to doubters)........and this may also be a key to the emerging human labor vs robots war.
The education, and interactive cheerleading components of the 'hope equation' are also necessary to maintain the focus of folks whose capacity for 'long term thinking' has been stolen by poverty.
Since the East India Tea Company first proved the global advantages of 'capitalism', the profits from labor have been largely diverted (by hook or by crook) to the big guns.
It may be too late, but we seriously need to insure that ALL MEMBERS of society own a residual piece of the platform that society rests and builds on.
10
Trickle Up ? Now that's a concept which will never happen in our country. You see, we only believe in Trickle Down although not a drop trickles down and the powers that be want to maintain that status quo. That's our esteemed Capitalism working for us i.e. for the 0.1 or the 1%.
9
Tabitha Cambodia uses a similar model with great success. Amazing stories of the impact of a small water well, a few animals and a savings program. As you say the rewards in self-esteem are as important as the economic ones.
3
Oscar Lewis predicted this. Once some stability, and this program is focused on stability, enters lives, it's much easier to break out of poverty. If one is stable, one can plan a future. Otherwise, life is simply keeping going from one day to the next.
One point that does need to be said. If I remember the NY Times story, many of the graduation programs are focused on the destitute, not the normal poor. In the US, we have very few people with the level of destitution prevalent in places like Bangladesh and India.
One point that does need to be said. If I remember the NY Times story, many of the graduation programs are focused on the destitute, not the normal poor. In the US, we have very few people with the level of destitution prevalent in places like Bangladesh and India.
5
Not a criticism of Mr. Kristin but I do object to the title. I think it be better called something else. Has any one gone to the grocery store and paid for the food with three packs of hope? I tried the other day and did not succeed.
As Bob Dylan sang many years ago, "when you got nothin', you got nothin' to lose." It stands to reason that the opposite is also true.
3
PCI Media Impact, a New York based NGO, using serial dramas (soap operas) along with radio call-in shows to create an on-going dialogue that lifts people up and changes attitudes and behavior. The role models established in the stories become powerful motivators and agents-of-change. In 30 years, Media Impact has reached over one billion listeners in Asia, Africa and the Americas. And, best of all, there is third-party university based research that proves it works! The world truly can be changed…one story at a time!
7
This reminds me of the saying: Give someone a fish and they eat for a day. Teach someone to fish and they can feed themselves for the rest of their lives.
The only exception to the truth in that old saying in today's modern world is that, without a play to fish from or and ocean with fish in it to fish from, what good does it do anyone to know how to fish, anyway?
Such seems to the the real dilemma in finding any real hope for anything anymore . . . . It's not that no one doesn't know how, it's where can they find the place to be allowed to do so in a world overwhelmed with elements that only destroys hope for all but those who it deems worthy enough by virtue (I say curse) of their material wealth. Loss that impediment, and maybe there's hope for the rest who could really make things worthwhile for everything.
The only exception to the truth in that old saying in today's modern world is that, without a play to fish from or and ocean with fish in it to fish from, what good does it do anyone to know how to fish, anyway?
Such seems to the the real dilemma in finding any real hope for anything anymore . . . . It's not that no one doesn't know how, it's where can they find the place to be allowed to do so in a world overwhelmed with elements that only destroys hope for all but those who it deems worthy enough by virtue (I say curse) of their material wealth. Loss that impediment, and maybe there's hope for the rest who could really make things worthwhile for everything.
1
"And it’s exhilarating that one of the lessons may be so simple and human: the power of hope." I would add to this the power of caring. Caring can be a great motivator. By caring we take our attention off ourselves focus it on others.
I myself, have been struggling with poverty, as a retired person. So, I am trying to work on hope by caring about others. For the past 3 years, I have been giving out thank you gifts. I have given over 100 Easy buttons, from Staples, to people I know. The more we think of others, the more motivated we can become...
It's the Golden Rule...
I myself, have been struggling with poverty, as a retired person. So, I am trying to work on hope by caring about others. For the past 3 years, I have been giving out thank you gifts. I have given over 100 Easy buttons, from Staples, to people I know. The more we think of others, the more motivated we can become...
It's the Golden Rule...
5
"Bleeding Hearts, rejoice!" indeed. I recently visited Ugandan villages in various stages of engagement with Village Enterprise (VE), an NGO working w/ the very poor displaced by decades of tyranny, disease and violence. When VE finds them, they are barely subsisting.
I saw villages in the beginning, mid and late stages of engagement with VE. I witnessed the progress from starvation, illness & hopelessness to physical & economic health, and visualization of a better future.
VE's program provides phased grants, vs loans. But this is a small contributor to the success. Two years of training, encouragement & guidance is what each and every grant recipient attributed to their personal & collective success. VE engages African staff who speak the local languages and understand the socioeconomic complexities of the regions.
The businesses they help to build are fully sustainable within their communities (vs reliant on the developed world to buy their goods), are scalable, and rely on cooperation and trust among the community members.
The training and grants enable the communities to create, sustain and grow business savings groups that bridge the gap local, national and international banks lack the interest or capability to provide.
So, yes, I agree that we can rejoice; their are success stories and repeatable models that raise the poorest out of poverty. My eyes are opened and my heart is warm knowing that organizations like Village Enterprise to have found the magic formula.
I saw villages in the beginning, mid and late stages of engagement with VE. I witnessed the progress from starvation, illness & hopelessness to physical & economic health, and visualization of a better future.
VE's program provides phased grants, vs loans. But this is a small contributor to the success. Two years of training, encouragement & guidance is what each and every grant recipient attributed to their personal & collective success. VE engages African staff who speak the local languages and understand the socioeconomic complexities of the regions.
The businesses they help to build are fully sustainable within their communities (vs reliant on the developed world to buy their goods), are scalable, and rely on cooperation and trust among the community members.
The training and grants enable the communities to create, sustain and grow business savings groups that bridge the gap local, national and international banks lack the interest or capability to provide.
So, yes, I agree that we can rejoice; their are success stories and repeatable models that raise the poorest out of poverty. My eyes are opened and my heart is warm knowing that organizations like Village Enterprise to have found the magic formula.
28
Thank you Mr Kristof for this column. A couple of thoughts: Don't we foster poverty by promoting profits above all else and allowing corporations nearly free reign to engage in the world with the goal of making the most money possible for shareholders?
The way we feel, our level of self esteem our sense of goodness/pleasure with life impacts our well being on the most profound level. Giving animals to people taps into this inner world. It makes total sense. I think it is a similar phenomena to the prisoner animal trainers- how they responded to being given an animal to train- hope , well being, self esteem restored
The way we feel, our level of self esteem our sense of goodness/pleasure with life impacts our well being on the most profound level. Giving animals to people taps into this inner world. It makes total sense. I think it is a similar phenomena to the prisoner animal trainers- how they responded to being given an animal to train- hope , well being, self esteem restored
4
Good column with relatively few comments. People with assets such as food, water, education, shelter and a forward thinking future often seem to suffer from poverty fatigue. Imagine the fatigue of being trapped in a downward poverty spiral. Much of the poverty problem could be addressed if it became a priority and each of us find our way to help.
5
I have no idea of how Mr. Kristof's ideas of how to "sustainably lift people out of poverty" applies to wealthy countries and their urban centers where poverty is a valued political institution. The reader who fails to understand this as a social institution should read the work of Herbert J. Gans. Hope as understood in this column is the result of outside aid; aid that is sorely lacking in the USA, despite the large number of more or less well paid jobs whose existence depends on the persistence. An economy dependent on wasteful consumption of goods, will treat people accordingly, waste there abilities. Of course hope is needed as for anything, but today's figures on disparities of wealth and income in the U. S. were not achieved by one political party. The misplaced political "hope" in the Democratic Party has served the hope of those living in poverty rather poorly. Living in Cambridge MA, the Uses of Poverty are all too apparent to anyone reading its budget. Yes, people segregated and stigmatized in public housing need a lot of mental health assistance.
Thank you for highlighting this report that demonstrates clearly the key importance of addressing psychological factors in combatting poverty. While hand-outs of food, water and even shelter may save lives, what is gained if those lives are spent in misery and endless frustration without hope? PCI Media Impact is a small NGO that addresses this dilemma through communication, using media to reach people with stories about others in similar situations who have been able to take an initiative that has led to some improvement in their lives, however small. By providing role models that disadvantaged people can identify with and be inspired by, PCI’s programs in countries around the world have introduced a key element of hope into their lives. As the report notes, a first step that produces a positive outcome leads in turn to improved self-esteem, to individuals feeling pride in the result of a personal effort that encourages them to continue and take charge of their lives. This change in psychology can eventually lead them to join with others to take broader initiatives to change incentive systems so they facilitate further efforts instead of blocking them.
8
Great! When working in Bangladesh, I wrote a paper specifically on how one graduation-type project drastically affected the psychology of its participants. The project set up to offer participants 'the best year of your life' through a menu of cash transfers, which meant that they felt able to make decisions for tomorrow rather than today. These smarter investments resulted in a 729% increase in income in 2 years. Loads more about the psychology of poverty in the paper here: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11205-013-0296-9
3
Not to be the harbinger of doom, although some of these offerings of hope actually impose greater hardship on the population. Microfinancers or MFIs have claimed to have helped poor people in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Liberia, Tanzania & Myanmar. In 2006 the Grameen bank and its head, Muhammad Yunus, won the Nobel peace prize for reducing poverty in Bangladesh by providing micro loans to offer hope to the destitute. Since then several studies found no benefit to the loans & forced Yonus to resign from his position.
Critics of microfinance argue that borrowing from multiple sources leads to over-indebtedness, trapping people in poverty & giving them false hope. The Trickle Up program seems to avoid the mistakes of microfinancing in being involved in a "teaching mode" including offering the role of caretaker of animals as a symbol of hope. Helping others is the strongest booster of self-esteem which includes the positive energy involved in supporting their growth. Rather than simply passively watch a video, the exchange of energy between sentient life (mammal to mammal) is a power booster of quantum energy proportions. The dignity that fosters a person to move from welfare recipient to fully empowered self sustaining individual is the ultimate transformation. Thank you Mr. Kristof for being a voice for the bleeding hearts!
Critics of microfinance argue that borrowing from multiple sources leads to over-indebtedness, trapping people in poverty & giving them false hope. The Trickle Up program seems to avoid the mistakes of microfinancing in being involved in a "teaching mode" including offering the role of caretaker of animals as a symbol of hope. Helping others is the strongest booster of self-esteem which includes the positive energy involved in supporting their growth. Rather than simply passively watch a video, the exchange of energy between sentient life (mammal to mammal) is a power booster of quantum energy proportions. The dignity that fosters a person to move from welfare recipient to fully empowered self sustaining individual is the ultimate transformation. Thank you Mr. Kristof for being a voice for the bleeding hearts!
15
As opposed to what we do in the United States when you are down on your luck. We tell people it's their own fault when it's not. We make it extremely difficult for single able bodied adults to get assistance among others. There is this strange assumption in America that people can make something from nothing, that any help from the government is leading to dependency if it's people while it's fine for corporations.
After living through a few bouts of extended unemployment I no longer hope for anything. I will not be able to retire. I will not be able to pay for needed health care. I and many others will be poor in our old age because of decisions made by corporations about pensions, and supported by our elected officials in support of 401Ks. But hey, it's a return to the good old days when the elderly who worked hard wound up with nothing. There are going to be a lot more poor people in America who will not have hope.
After living through a few bouts of extended unemployment I no longer hope for anything. I will not be able to retire. I will not be able to pay for needed health care. I and many others will be poor in our old age because of decisions made by corporations about pensions, and supported by our elected officials in support of 401Ks. But hey, it's a return to the good old days when the elderly who worked hard wound up with nothing. There are going to be a lot more poor people in America who will not have hope.
30
I'm sorry for your extended unemployment and circumstances. Though I can only imagine your difficulties, I am sending you thoughts for hope, resilience and a little good luck that you might get a break and be more financially secure. Thank you for sharing your story, so that we all know that real people are behind the rhetoric and numbers.
3
Capitalism by it's very nature is a game of 'survival of the fittest'. The founding father's clearly recognized this and cautioned that a key function of government was to help deal with the human consequences of 'creative destruction'.
Clearly, they (the founding father's) could not have conceived of the nature, complexity, pace of 'creative destruction', and the rich diversity of modern capitalism.
This makes capitalism a prime target for predators who would profit from both creation and destruction at the expense of investors, creditors, and labor. Sane, humane, life cycle wealth management and distribution is essential to any healthy society...............and, since the honor system doesn't work, this generally requires strong, objective governance to maintain social health and welfare.
For most, the game is, after all, about the humans. Glory, power, and the number of zero's in ones' bank are noteworthy, but secondary social considerations.
Clearly, they (the founding father's) could not have conceived of the nature, complexity, pace of 'creative destruction', and the rich diversity of modern capitalism.
This makes capitalism a prime target for predators who would profit from both creation and destruction at the expense of investors, creditors, and labor. Sane, humane, life cycle wealth management and distribution is essential to any healthy society...............and, since the honor system doesn't work, this generally requires strong, objective governance to maintain social health and welfare.
For most, the game is, after all, about the humans. Glory, power, and the number of zero's in ones' bank are noteworthy, but secondary social considerations.
There are many excellent ideas for ending global poverty, but these will never see the light of day. The people who control the world love the idea of "globalism", especially globalism with the investor-state dispute mechanism in place which codifies the notion of corporate rights superseding governments ability to protect the health, financial security and environment from corporate degradation.
But without a large pool of low wage countries with workers sufficiently desperate to toil under near-slavery conditions, the global system the wealthy envision will never meet their expectations.
Ending poverty is a wonderful idea, and completely realistic, but it has a huge hurdle that is insurmountable so long as the wrong people people continue to make the key policy decisions and the first world audience acquiesces.
But without a large pool of low wage countries with workers sufficiently desperate to toil under near-slavery conditions, the global system the wealthy envision will never meet their expectations.
Ending poverty is a wonderful idea, and completely realistic, but it has a huge hurdle that is insurmountable so long as the wrong people people continue to make the key policy decisions and the first world audience acquiesces.
17
Over history, human civilization, as uncivil as it might be, seems to trend towards the unity of diverse populations. Population growth, and the pace of communications and transportation technologies has vastly reduced the distance between humans to the point of challenging our 'territorial instincts'.
It makes sense. We build the platforms of our societies together, and the invisible hand of human diversity and ingenuity works it's magic to multiply our capacity and capability to overcome the natural challenges that we face as a species.
Unfortunately, the happenstantial nature of our Universe seems to favor diversity over unification. Diversity produces random simultaneous alternatives, and the more successful of those can 'fight its way to dominance' (at least for some period of time in which the conditions for its success are favorable). The combination of trial and error (happenstance), and malleability (aka, creative destruction) eventually (as illustrated by Darwin) evolves meaningful, and necessary adaptation (aka change).
The question, should we decide to answer it, is whether it is possible to end inequality and poverty without fatally 'watering down' diversity.
The combination of capitalism and democracy seems to come closest to that objective. However, those are based on hierarchy, and the emergence of the Internet seems to be driving us toward the less simple and less intuitive alternative of a networked or latticed structure of order.
It makes sense. We build the platforms of our societies together, and the invisible hand of human diversity and ingenuity works it's magic to multiply our capacity and capability to overcome the natural challenges that we face as a species.
Unfortunately, the happenstantial nature of our Universe seems to favor diversity over unification. Diversity produces random simultaneous alternatives, and the more successful of those can 'fight its way to dominance' (at least for some period of time in which the conditions for its success are favorable). The combination of trial and error (happenstance), and malleability (aka, creative destruction) eventually (as illustrated by Darwin) evolves meaningful, and necessary adaptation (aka change).
The question, should we decide to answer it, is whether it is possible to end inequality and poverty without fatally 'watering down' diversity.
The combination of capitalism and democracy seems to come closest to that objective. However, those are based on hierarchy, and the emergence of the Internet seems to be driving us toward the less simple and less intuitive alternative of a networked or latticed structure of order.
Great news from the work of Esther Duflo at JPAL/MIT, and Dean Karlan at Innovations for Poverty Action. Thank you Saint Nicholas.
These economists and their colleagues are using micro-finance, randomized trials and psychology to show what works and what doesn't in the war on poverty -- very exciting.
The dark side to such valiant efforts, is that population growth makes their efforts less useful. Without education, family planning, and population control, all those donated animals will soon be eaten.
These economists and their colleagues are using micro-finance, randomized trials and psychology to show what works and what doesn't in the war on poverty -- very exciting.
The dark side to such valiant efforts, is that population growth makes their efforts less useful. Without education, family planning, and population control, all those donated animals will soon be eaten.
11
The power of sciene is real too.
2
Gee, imagine. Give people hope. At some point maybe the democratic party will remember that, instead of constantly telling people "you're not capable so we have to do everything for you", and we can see America rise once more.
2
It would be better if we stopped arguing over money and power, and focused more on the what's best for humans (as a species).
Democrats while favoring humans often fall into the trap of treating 'symptoms' rather than diseases. Republicans do the same with business, even to the extent of promoting businesses to the status of humans.
I much prefer the focus on humans, because for all of it's faults, it is still humane. The Republican approach drops the ball by advocating the disenfranchisement of 'human losers' without ever addressing the issue of how they might recover from their largely happenstantial circumstances. Since they (the Republicans) are typically picking on the most vulnerable among us (as losers), the implication is always that those folks will either figure out 'how to deal with it' or quietly find an isolated culvert and die.
I'm all for incentive, but we no longer live in the world of subsistence living, and haven't been since the dawn of the industrial age. Most, if not all of those who Republican would dub 'human losers' are victims of the failure of humans systems of order.
It may be necessary for humans to function within the universal paradigm of 'survival of the fittest', but if we're going to accept that reality, we need to also accept the challenge to maximize the 'quality' of all humans without undermining the essential attributes that insure the level of human diversity required to build and grow our platforms of civilization.
Democrats while favoring humans often fall into the trap of treating 'symptoms' rather than diseases. Republicans do the same with business, even to the extent of promoting businesses to the status of humans.
I much prefer the focus on humans, because for all of it's faults, it is still humane. The Republican approach drops the ball by advocating the disenfranchisement of 'human losers' without ever addressing the issue of how they might recover from their largely happenstantial circumstances. Since they (the Republicans) are typically picking on the most vulnerable among us (as losers), the implication is always that those folks will either figure out 'how to deal with it' or quietly find an isolated culvert and die.
I'm all for incentive, but we no longer live in the world of subsistence living, and haven't been since the dawn of the industrial age. Most, if not all of those who Republican would dub 'human losers' are victims of the failure of humans systems of order.
It may be necessary for humans to function within the universal paradigm of 'survival of the fittest', but if we're going to accept that reality, we need to also accept the challenge to maximize the 'quality' of all humans without undermining the essential attributes that insure the level of human diversity required to build and grow our platforms of civilization.
2
Please, give us some examples, because all I remember of the Democratic party's poverty policies is: Bill Clinton signing the bill that gutted our already meager, by European standards, welfare system and Obama signing a bill that decreased food stamp funding. All of this in the context of Democratic support for trade bills, strong dollar policies, incentives for off-shoring etc. that hurt every one but the wealthy.
Are you sure that you're basing your views on accurate information?
Are you sure that you're basing your views on accurate information?
3
I commend Mr. Kristol and his thoughts on how to bring hope to those in poverty in developing countries, and enable them to lift their economic status. However, I’ve read one too many articles about the poor in developing countries that would benefit from having a cow, or ‘learning how to fish’. I’m an American; we have over 40 million Americans in poverty – 20 million of which live under ‘half the poverty line’ and approximately 2 million living on less than $2 per day. Unfortunately, Mr. Kristol, we can’t provide cows to the poor in the Bronx, or South Philadelphia or Camden, NJ. I would like to see more articles on what our federal and state governments can do to address those that are the poorest of the poor. We’ve turned our back on the inner cities and need to find a way to rebuild them, using the inhabitants who live in those neighborhoods. We can train the poor to rebuild their communities; we start by rebuilding the infrastructure – schools, medical facilities, removing blight, and focusing on the children who are born into poverty.
3
Research shows that the best thing that can be done for inner city ghettos is to get the people out of them. People's worldview and how they act in life is correlates with who is in the community they grow up in. We should start by not incentivizing low income people to live in concentrated areas. In NYC, this means getting rid of all the subsidized and coincidentally apparently mismanaged housing projects, a bankrupt idea that seemed like a good one back in 1940. The taxpayer entire state funded poverty addressing complex should be rethought in terms of the current state of knowledge. Not necessarily spending less, but spending it in completely different ways.
1
The thought of not having to constantly worry about making enough money to just keep the lights on seems like paradise. My hope is death comes soon.
2
I am no bleeding heart but I do believe "A cow, a few goats or even bees" is an excellent way of providing a start for many impoverished families. It's from the school of teach a man to fish to sustain himself vs giving him a gift of a fish.
However here in the US, I ask this with compassion how can we apply a similar aid to the urban needy looking to climb out of the projects to become self-sufficient? Bring back workfare or employ folks to replace government workers?
However here in the US, I ask this with compassion how can we apply a similar aid to the urban needy looking to climb out of the projects to become self-sufficient? Bring back workfare or employ folks to replace government workers?
9
Thank you. Exactly. We are seeing the fruits of the climate of generations of hopelessness created by our own system. We need to do more here in the US as well. Each one of us can make small positive changes which, taken together, add up to measureable progress. Boomers, this means us!
And yet our crackpot congress thinks wars and armaments are the best alternative for American "support" of peoples around the world.
I am so glad to be old and not have to watch our nation disintigrate much more.
I am so glad to be old and not have to watch our nation disintigrate much more.
14
yes, just as you say later in the piece -- the power of hopelessness is also real, and a strong disincentive to really push, get out and vote, etc. Thats why the Republicans continue to try so hard to create a climate of hopelessness among those who oppose their everlasting program to transfer as much as possible of our country's wealth to the richest. With hope, change becomes possible — and that prospect scares Adelman and the Koch brothers most of all.
7
And what is the agriculturally based solution to the American poverty problem?
Well, in proof of Mr. Kristoff's theory, there is one - there are three, actually. They are the poppy, the coca tree, and the cannabis plant.
Young Black Americans living in the ghettos, who are there because of the history of the lack of opportunities for them and their parents, grandparents, etc., turn to drug sales very quickly and easily as a way to make money.
They are condemned for it by everyone, but really, what else have they got? A cow. A goat. In the ghetto?
I do recall, when working on a project for Weeksville, in deepest Brooklyn, seeing signs for fresh, local eggs in a storefront on one of the avenues. But talk about "drops in the bucket!"
If we are to address the problems of the world, let's get our own house in order, first. And let's start by NOT shipping anymore jobs overseas - you know of what it is I speak - and try to bring some of those jobs back to stem the growth of the sales of certain agricultural products within our inner cities.
Well, in proof of Mr. Kristoff's theory, there is one - there are three, actually. They are the poppy, the coca tree, and the cannabis plant.
Young Black Americans living in the ghettos, who are there because of the history of the lack of opportunities for them and their parents, grandparents, etc., turn to drug sales very quickly and easily as a way to make money.
They are condemned for it by everyone, but really, what else have they got? A cow. A goat. In the ghetto?
I do recall, when working on a project for Weeksville, in deepest Brooklyn, seeing signs for fresh, local eggs in a storefront on one of the avenues. But talk about "drops in the bucket!"
If we are to address the problems of the world, let's get our own house in order, first. And let's start by NOT shipping anymore jobs overseas - you know of what it is I speak - and try to bring some of those jobs back to stem the growth of the sales of certain agricultural products within our inner cities.
9
People are people and if hope has an impact on your life, why wouldn't it for a poor person is a third world country? Being a good capitalist, I give money to Heifer International for this very reason: hope and the ability to build a life. This is a very good way to change the world
1
The reason why the poor live in despair may have to do by the fact that they 'know' their predicament is irreversible; hence, the hopelessness. I was surprised you didn't mention Muhammad Yunus, a bangladeshi economist who developed the concepts of microfinance and microcredit (via the Grameen or Village Bank), which did provide loan money to solidarity groups, seeing good results. Unfortunately, his country's politicking and possibly envy ousted him.
1
Not sure how you can do randomized trials here -- in your random sample for "cow" treatment do you just show up at their door with a cow?
Here in the US we just use bumper stickers that say "Hope 08" and people also end up finding more odd jobs. Or not.
Here in the US we just use bumper stickers that say "Hope 08" and people also end up finding more odd jobs. Or not.
1
Great piece, Frank....full of worthy thought to make us think and do.
You don't need religiion to be told to get out and do for others what you do for yourself, but it doesn't hurt.
The beaten man lying in the ditch wasn't saved by Caesar or his minions, He was saved by a synagogue-going Samaritan.
There's a lesson to be learned here and religion can help us learn it.
You don't need religiion to be told to get out and do for others what you do for yourself, but it doesn't hurt.
The beaten man lying in the ditch wasn't saved by Caesar or his minions, He was saved by a synagogue-going Samaritan.
There's a lesson to be learned here and religion can help us learn it.
1
"Marx had the wrong drug in mind: religion would not be an opiate of the masses but an amphetamine."
I was thinking more along the lines of Prozac. Religion can 'enable' people to do all kinds of things, many of them, to varying degrees, self-destructive.
No doubt, the latter-day acquisitiveness of Latin American pentecostals might even have surprised Max Weber.
I was thinking more along the lines of Prozac. Religion can 'enable' people to do all kinds of things, many of them, to varying degrees, self-destructive.
No doubt, the latter-day acquisitiveness of Latin American pentecostals might even have surprised Max Weber.
9
Yes, more religion in Africa! A place where crackpot militants hunt down "witches" and burn them at the stake! Where the Catholic Church preaches that AIDS may be bad but condoms are always worse! Where homophobia rates are the highest in the world, where governments enact federal laws to stoke the flames of hatred against an innocent people, always, always, always resulting in death.
Marx may have been too chummy when he deemed religion an opiate. But in your case, Mr. Kristof, if religion is an amphetamine, it is evidently meth.
Marx may have been too chummy when he deemed religion an opiate. But in your case, Mr. Kristof, if religion is an amphetamine, it is evidently meth.
11
Tina Rosenberg's "Upward Mobility" piece covered this in The NY Times on May 15, with a bit more technical detail.
The productivity that yields the standard of living that people seek comes from working in organizations that combine various people's energy and skills with (appropriate) technology and good management and marketing.
In the meantime, however, microenterprises can help the poor cope, particularly when supported by services like microfinance (including microsaving) and the intensive person-to-person assistance that Prof. Duflo and others have studied. Some of these microentrepreneurs will build commercially successful businesses. As Prof. Duflo has noted, however, what most of the poor generally aspire to is employment in a good organization -- in other words, jobs.
The productivity that yields the standard of living that people seek comes from working in organizations that combine various people's energy and skills with (appropriate) technology and good management and marketing.
In the meantime, however, microenterprises can help the poor cope, particularly when supported by services like microfinance (including microsaving) and the intensive person-to-person assistance that Prof. Duflo and others have studied. Some of these microentrepreneurs will build commercially successful businesses. As Prof. Duflo has noted, however, what most of the poor generally aspire to is employment in a good organization -- in other words, jobs.
4
Interesting, how the obvious can become the bread and butter of academics.
5
Thank you Nicholas for an inspiring message to start this new day. I will check out both Heifer International and Trickle Up and make a contribution today, and will continue to do so going forward. Keep up your refreshing and inspirational writing, it's a dose of good health for all of us!
10
I agree that, as always, Kristof is inspiring. If only there were more like him, in journalism and elsewhere.
p.s. But please note that Trickle Up has quite a low rating on Charity Navigator. Rated in the 70's and only 2 stars out of a possible 4.
p.s. But please note that Trickle Up has quite a low rating on Charity Navigator. Rated in the 70's and only 2 stars out of a possible 4.
Many of us are greedy and power hungry. We believe that we are the entitled ones.
It is by the luck of the draw and because of the problems in our economic model that some of us are unreasonably wealthy; not because we are genetically superior to others.
The fact is that our Tree of Liberty is being poisoned to its roots by the love of money for money's sake, the love of power and control over others for the sake of demeaning others, and the love of self for the sake of feeling superior to others.
We need to:
-Genuinely love our neighbors and our selves.
-Increase taxes on unreasonably wealthy corporations and individuals.
-Use some of the resulting revenue to pay off the debt and develop economic opportunities in America.
-Use some of the resulting revenue so that poverty will be eliminated and every one of us can have sufficient incomes and live healthy lives here in America.
-Provide education for everyone so that the wealthiest and the least wealthy among us can learn how to responsibly manage our incomes, including disposable income.
Those of us who are wealthy will still be very wealthy, just not unreasonably wealthy.
Our consciences will be clearer. We will behave more constructively with one another. Very few of us, Americans, will act in ways to cause another American's life to be worthless.
Our greed is unhealthy our children and other living things.
The enemy is us.
It is by the luck of the draw and because of the problems in our economic model that some of us are unreasonably wealthy; not because we are genetically superior to others.
The fact is that our Tree of Liberty is being poisoned to its roots by the love of money for money's sake, the love of power and control over others for the sake of demeaning others, and the love of self for the sake of feeling superior to others.
We need to:
-Genuinely love our neighbors and our selves.
-Increase taxes on unreasonably wealthy corporations and individuals.
-Use some of the resulting revenue to pay off the debt and develop economic opportunities in America.
-Use some of the resulting revenue so that poverty will be eliminated and every one of us can have sufficient incomes and live healthy lives here in America.
-Provide education for everyone so that the wealthiest and the least wealthy among us can learn how to responsibly manage our incomes, including disposable income.
Those of us who are wealthy will still be very wealthy, just not unreasonably wealthy.
Our consciences will be clearer. We will behave more constructively with one another. Very few of us, Americans, will act in ways to cause another American's life to be worthless.
Our greed is unhealthy our children and other living things.
The enemy is us.
21
If we gave poor families in America capital equal to several times their annual income, perhaps in the form of a well-maintained used car or the equipment and cash necessary to establish a small business, we would surely see their lives improve, too. The difference is that as a society we are willing to spend a few hundred dollars here and there to help starving people halfway around the world but utterly disinterested in spending the billions it would take to help our own impoverished citizens elevate themselves.
We demand that poor Americans pull themselves up by their bootstraps even as we deny them the straps in the first place.
We demand that poor Americans pull themselves up by their bootstraps even as we deny them the straps in the first place.
21
Unfortunately I've seen many poor Americans who are unwilling to do the work necessary to pull themselves out of poverty. Many utilize the free government-sponsored services (daycare, health services, WIC, etc) while sporting multiple tattoos, carrying the newest iPhone, and blinding others with their bling. Americans need to understand the "hand up, not hand out" intent of public assistance like people in other countries seem to do.
What will lift poor countries out of poverty today is the same thing that has worked over and over again in the past and that is abundant cheap labor and an attractive environment for investment . For over one hundred and fifty years this has been true and it still is true.
It has been argued that industry has been leaving the old industrialized nations for the newly industrialized nations and in so doing importing unemployment and paradoxically poverty. At the same time the " newly" industrialized nations are importing employment and exporting unemployment .
Approaches such as micro loans and small scale programs can be helpful but only large scale capital importation and exportation of finished goods can really impact on peoples economic expectations. The importance of the contribution of education and literacy that is suitable to the new demands of markets including computer skills and entrepreneurial skills cannot be overestimated nor can barriers to enterprise that can be cultural and governmental be underestimated in how nations distribute their wealth.
In this sense this issue touches not only on India but also on the poverty found in the US. The immigrant experience in the US once included the ability to start small businesses, obtain land at low cost and have access to energetic markets. It was not religion that helped them but rather the ability to translate their skills into something remunerative … this is how nations exit poverty…look at china !
It has been argued that industry has been leaving the old industrialized nations for the newly industrialized nations and in so doing importing unemployment and paradoxically poverty. At the same time the " newly" industrialized nations are importing employment and exporting unemployment .
Approaches such as micro loans and small scale programs can be helpful but only large scale capital importation and exportation of finished goods can really impact on peoples economic expectations. The importance of the contribution of education and literacy that is suitable to the new demands of markets including computer skills and entrepreneurial skills cannot be overestimated nor can barriers to enterprise that can be cultural and governmental be underestimated in how nations distribute their wealth.
In this sense this issue touches not only on India but also on the poverty found in the US. The immigrant experience in the US once included the ability to start small businesses, obtain land at low cost and have access to energetic markets. It was not religion that helped them but rather the ability to translate their skills into something remunerative … this is how nations exit poverty…look at china !
4
You mentioned Heifer International. I spent some time in Tanzania working with the poor. Shortly before I left a nun approached me (she probably thought I had a lot of money). All she wanted was some money to buy some chickens for the poor in her community. When I returned home I sent her the information regarding Heifer. She contacted them (they were in a town very near where she lived and she had never heard of them). And, yes they provided the chickens for her. She wrote me back and thanked me profusely.
When I first heard of Heifer it was hard for me to believe they actually gave animals. I was so pleased to learn that they do indeed give actual animals and that those donations actually work. I donate to them every year.
When I first heard of Heifer it was hard for me to believe they actually gave animals. I was so pleased to learn that they do indeed give actual animals and that those donations actually work. I donate to them every year.
32
I also have given to Heifer International and they seem to do legitimate and good work. As the article points out, it is not help on a massive scale- but it does have an effect that hopefully will have a ripple effect to take on a life of its own. If the cow, sheep and chickens give eggs, milk and have offspring, it will take away the grinding poverty so many experience every day. They will still be poor but they will have more food security and eventually be able to focus on education and small business. Every bit helps. Let's also hope that family planning can become the norm. The poverty rate in most areas of the globe is directly tied to the fact that people have more children that they can ever hope to feed.
10
Real hope is a wonderful thing to have and causes positive changes in the human brain.
But false hope is the dark side of hope, something used mercilessly for centuries all over the globe by right-wing authoritarians and propagandists to cajole the masses into supporting the politics of poverty and to hurt the human brain with massive disinformation campaigns.
Trickle Up - which provides real hope - was founded in 1979, just as the fraud of "trickle down” economics was ramping up in the Republican Party.
http://www.trickleup.org/about/History.cfm
Trickle-Down fraud (i.e., false hope) had a hopeful sounding messenger in Ronald Reagan to peddle false economic hope, but it turned out to be a massive economic fraud that savaged the average American for decades to come and it remains a national mental defect in the American IQ to this day.
Trickle Up and real hope work.
Trickle Down and false hope destroy.
Hope is a wonderful and dangerous thing.
But false hope is the dark side of hope, something used mercilessly for centuries all over the globe by right-wing authoritarians and propagandists to cajole the masses into supporting the politics of poverty and to hurt the human brain with massive disinformation campaigns.
Trickle Up - which provides real hope - was founded in 1979, just as the fraud of "trickle down” economics was ramping up in the Republican Party.
http://www.trickleup.org/about/History.cfm
Trickle-Down fraud (i.e., false hope) had a hopeful sounding messenger in Ronald Reagan to peddle false economic hope, but it turned out to be a massive economic fraud that savaged the average American for decades to come and it remains a national mental defect in the American IQ to this day.
Trickle Up and real hope work.
Trickle Down and false hope destroy.
Hope is a wonderful and dangerous thing.
57
Socrates,
I know Trickle Up well - I was the program's evaluator some years ago. Trickle Up is part of the graduation program that Mr. Kristoff mentioned. In addition to targeting the poorest and providing small start up grants to launch a business those who receive this package of assistance are organized into groups where they pay back the grants to a savings group that they manage so that the benefits are long term. As I visited Trickle Up recipients around the world - Somalis in Portland Maine, the Sioux in North Dakota, and in Ethiopia and India I was impressed with how with a little outside assistance the poorest were able to improve their outlook on life and with less concern about day to day survival and the support of peers they had the luxury of hope.
I know Trickle Up well - I was the program's evaluator some years ago. Trickle Up is part of the graduation program that Mr. Kristoff mentioned. In addition to targeting the poorest and providing small start up grants to launch a business those who receive this package of assistance are organized into groups where they pay back the grants to a savings group that they manage so that the benefits are long term. As I visited Trickle Up recipients around the world - Somalis in Portland Maine, the Sioux in North Dakota, and in Ethiopia and India I was impressed with how with a little outside assistance the poorest were able to improve their outlook on life and with less concern about day to day survival and the support of peers they had the luxury of hope.
43
Hopelessness can be a (learned) response to being thwarted many times despite one's best efforts. A program such as described would provide positive experiences that would in turn form a concrete basis for hope. If inspirational videos also create hope, that's great, too, but in a world in which success is known to breed success, I would think that helping people achieve the first steps towards being viewed as successful would produce a more robust result in terms of sustained hope. My point is that while some people suffer from chronic depression no matter their circumstances, some depression is reactive, a (realistic?) response to experience. If experience is chronically negative no matter what the person does, there can be a loss of hope and even an unwillingness to participate. I say this in part from observing people who have been hopeful and successful during earlier parts of their lives, but have gone through hard times, including serial arbitrary negative treatment by others, and have lost the hope they once had.
4
Nicholas, thank you for a moment of inspiration this morning. I would add that I, too, have seen the power of hope and what it provides to individuals who are living in the poverty caused by mental illness. With the proper support, one can actually measure the increase in Hope of these individuals who are otherwise so vulnerable. Furthermore one can correlate that increase of Hope with improvements in not only mental health but overall health.
Over the years, I have found it more important to focus on the individual's dream statement and to help them to infuse it with reality then to focus on their diagnosis.
This process helps individuals not only have hope but to step into a place of faith, faith in a more successful future.
Virgil Stucker, CooperRiis Healing Community
Over the years, I have found it more important to focus on the individual's dream statement and to help them to infuse it with reality then to focus on their diagnosis.
This process helps individuals not only have hope but to step into a place of faith, faith in a more successful future.
Virgil Stucker, CooperRiis Healing Community
3
While Kristof writes of lofty hope, the thieves of the banking system get by with fines and no jail. While our collective pockets are being picked, we get distracted by a story of hope. Yes, I believe hope is good, and solid secular social programs to help the masses are what is needed. But while the money is being siphoned off our system by those who never seem to really pay the price, this piece feels merely like a distraction..just like the other lack of meaty opinions in the NYTimes lately..about subjects that would distract and not make a difference in most people's economic and social lives. Do you think the bankers really care about your column, Nicolas? Do you think they care about hope for the disenfranchised? NO! They go about their social events congratulating themselves on giving a few million here and there for their own pleasures. I don't believe the intentions of this paper is much more than a "papering" over of the real issues while the main powers that be, keep on keeping on.
29
Carolyn,
Meanwhile the immigrants in America have taken banking in the their own hands using traditions of saving in groups brought from their home countries. Based on my conversations with immigrants in Delaware I learned that most are part of groups where a dozen workmates and fellow countrymen put $100 into a pot every week with each in turn receiving a $1,200 payout every three months or so. What if immigrants taught non-immigrants what they learned about disciplined savings and peer support? I am launching Saving Works to find out. I ran a program in Mali, Senegal, Cambodia, El Salvador and Guatemala where these revolving groups became mini 20 member banks. Local NGOs trained 35,000 of these "savings groups." The outcome documented by the same Dean Karlan - a modest decrease in chronic hunger, building assets (more livestock), more savings, reaching the poorest - although the slightly better off were more likely to join, and the word of mouth spread of the system to neighboring villages. The cost, $1.50 per villager. See my book on savings groups at www.intheirownhands.com.
Meanwhile the immigrants in America have taken banking in the their own hands using traditions of saving in groups brought from their home countries. Based on my conversations with immigrants in Delaware I learned that most are part of groups where a dozen workmates and fellow countrymen put $100 into a pot every week with each in turn receiving a $1,200 payout every three months or so. What if immigrants taught non-immigrants what they learned about disciplined savings and peer support? I am launching Saving Works to find out. I ran a program in Mali, Senegal, Cambodia, El Salvador and Guatemala where these revolving groups became mini 20 member banks. Local NGOs trained 35,000 of these "savings groups." The outcome documented by the same Dean Karlan - a modest decrease in chronic hunger, building assets (more livestock), more savings, reaching the poorest - although the slightly better off were more likely to join, and the word of mouth spread of the system to neighboring villages. The cost, $1.50 per villager. See my book on savings groups at www.intheirownhands.com.
4
Sounds like a great idea..mini credit unions sort of?
It wasn't until the end of the article that Mr Kristof provided any useful advice.
I knew a Pakistani family where the father got a job in another country and sent back enough money to buy a cow. (I went to visit, and saw the cow inside the family's home.) The cow got no food or water. 'You must feed the cow and give it water,' I tried to tell them.
'No,' they answered. 'This not America. Cow must learn it must pay for food and water with milk. No milk, no food or water.' Needless to say, the cow died.
As Mr Kristof writes at the end, if one gives a cow, one must teach the family about cows, and give enough cattle food (that cannot be used for human consumption) so the family will give a pregnant or post-partum cow enough to eat and drink until it can give milk.
Just giving a cow means that, shortly after, the family will be eating burgers and, once the burgers are all eaten, will be just as poor as they were before they were given the cow.
I knew a Pakistani family where the father got a job in another country and sent back enough money to buy a cow. (I went to visit, and saw the cow inside the family's home.) The cow got no food or water. 'You must feed the cow and give it water,' I tried to tell them.
'No,' they answered. 'This not America. Cow must learn it must pay for food and water with milk. No milk, no food or water.' Needless to say, the cow died.
As Mr Kristof writes at the end, if one gives a cow, one must teach the family about cows, and give enough cattle food (that cannot be used for human consumption) so the family will give a pregnant or post-partum cow enough to eat and drink until it can give milk.
Just giving a cow means that, shortly after, the family will be eating burgers and, once the burgers are all eaten, will be just as poor as they were before they were given the cow.
14
The usual conservative example is giving a fish instead of teaching them to fish. People are not THAT stupid. Your assumptions here are doubly insulting to those who are down and out and demonstrates a lack of understanding of what truely makes the world go around, love .
7
Have to be honest, I'm finding it very hard to believe this story. People in a country that is mostly rural wouldn't know anything about having a cow? That they, or anybody for that matter, that that they have to give food and water to a cow? Seriously?
3
Love may make the world go 'round, but it is hard to love anyone or anything when one can see no way out of hopelessness and is starving besides. Maybe love is a cow?
THE POWER OF HOPE I am moved by Nicholas Kristof's reportage about the success of programs designed to life the very poor out of poverty. I wish it could be replicated here in the US. But I've got my doubts. After 50 years, people are still arguing about the effectiveness of the Headstart preschool program, though the results have been consistently positive. There are many major obstacles to implement similar programs here, not the least of which are the culture of individualism and outsourcing of US jobs. We live with the myth that rugged individuals who go off into the wilderness can do anything they want by dint of hard work. It may have been true earlier, but it no longer is, since our greatest discoveries have been, in part, invented in garages. There is a strong bias against acknowledging the networks and supports of those who succeeded. Philly, where I live, used to be known as the Workshop of the World, as there were thousands of small business where people could work and support themselves. They are long gone, and with them the hope of those who held the jobs they provided. We need to reward businesses that return jobs back onshore in the US. They need to demonstrate their patriotism by acting as good corporate citizens. The bottom line for the US to thrive is not the quarterly profits returns, but the good done by corporate citizens to provide community supports as part of their mission. That requirement need to be restored, though cut by Reaganites.
28
Give a person a fish AND teach them to fish.
46
YES, MR. KRISTOF, AS A SECULARIST . . .
...I do believe in the power of hope ... and even prayer. From a scientific and empirical viewpoint, one's access to hope (even if it's unrealistic) can work seeming wonders.
For one's beliefs, feeling and cognitions have the capacity to have an impact on the brain and its cells circuit pathways and neurotansmiters (which act as the computer of the body) and affect positive change in one's condition(s).
And, your essay is simply an analogue in terms of economic conditions and other worldly events.
...I do believe in the power of hope ... and even prayer. From a scientific and empirical viewpoint, one's access to hope (even if it's unrealistic) can work seeming wonders.
For one's beliefs, feeling and cognitions have the capacity to have an impact on the brain and its cells circuit pathways and neurotansmiters (which act as the computer of the body) and affect positive change in one's condition(s).
And, your essay is simply an analogue in terms of economic conditions and other worldly events.
2
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/six-women-in-meerut-v...