When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself

by Steve Corbett

For example, during the initial decade following World War II, the World Bank believed the cause of poverty was primarily a lack of material resources—the last row of table 2.1—so it poured money into Europe and the Majority World. The strategy worked in the former but not in the latter. Why? The fundamental problem in the Majority World was not a lack of material resources. The World Bank misdiagnosed the disease, and it applied the wrong medicine. If We Believe the Primary Cause of Poverty Is … Then We Will Primarily Try to … A Lack of Knowledge Educate the Poor Oppression by Powerful People Work for Social Justice The Personal Sins of the Poor Evangelize and Disciple the Poor A Lack of Material Resources Give Material Resources to the Poor TABLE 2.1