Among those working in poverty alleviation, a fundamental point of contention is whether individual behavior or structural barriers are the reason the poor stay poor. Charles Karelis rejects the economic assumptions underlying the dispute, challenging both sides of the ideological spectrum. Read the Boston Globe article about his ideas,
including bee stings and car dents, here.
Karelis, a professor at George Washington University, argues that current thinking depends on economic assumptions that don’t apply to the poor. According to Karelis, those of modest means are more likely to have a worldview shaped by deprivation rather than plenty. Life is about problems to be solved (rent, transportation, credit card bills, day care, etc) rather than goods to be consumed. Even if some problems are alleviated, the pile that remains is still daunting. In this way, poverty and wealth are two fundamentally different human experiences rather than points along a continuum of income or assets. read more »
