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This article makes such a crucial point. There are many entrepreneurs and other successful people that set out to do good in the world. And that's laudable and

This article makes such a crucial point. There are many entrepreneurs and other successful people that set out to do good in the world. And that's laudable and to be encouraged. But unfortunately, they project their own mindset onto others. "Surely, they are all aspiring entrepreneurs at heart. If only they had access to resources, they'd go ahead and prosper." - And so a lot of anti-poverty initiatives focus on things like micro-credits, mentorship and training that facilitates and unlocks an existing drive towards entrepreneurship. But what if that drive simply isn't there? What if the hopelessness is inter-generational and deeply embedded into the culture? No amount of external help and support will unlock something, that doesn't exist in the first place. This article describes this well. First - you must change the mindset towards the notion that - with hard work, skill and determination - one's fate can be improved. Only than will the improvement enabling measures take hold.

immibis 3y ago
Even worse: What if the drive of "I can improve this" doesn't exist because they actually can't improve this? Then changing the mindset won't help.
- wolframhempel 3y ago
  Not sure there is anything that just "can't be improved" no matter what. Of course, things can be incredibly hard - but even in the poorest regions under the most extrusive of governments, there are ways to carve out niches.
  - TheOtherHobbes 3y ago
    Which often involve drugs and gang violence. That's not rhetoric. There's ample evidence linking poverty and inequality with crime. The reasons are complex, but it's not hard to suspect that crime is the most accessible and rewarding career choice when other options aren't available. Crime is risky, but the rewards are immediate and obvious. Businesses and self-employment are riskier financially and less risky personally, but the rewards are more distant. Entrepreneurial mentoring schemes - for example - will always struggle to fix problems that are rooted in aggressive economic apartheid.
dkarl 3y ago
> But what if that drive simply isn't there? I'd argue there are always exceptions, people who have initiative and drive despite growing up in conditions that would not seem to foster them, and giving the exceptions a chance to succeed will raise the spirits and expectations of the next generation. It makes a huge difference to children to be able to point to examples they can follow, even if they're rare. Of course you can't lean on that as your only solution. It isn't going to do much to diminish other systematic barriers, and it makes it easier for privileged people to deny the existence of barriers. Providing a little bit of opportunity and fostering the success of a few individuals doesn't give society a license to neglect other aspects of the problem.
- wolframhempel 3y ago
  Of course - societies are heterogeneous - there's always exceptional people that could be a prove to others that change is indeed possible. I think, however, that fighting poverty is a numbers game. In a society that values entrepreneurship and striving towards a better live at its core, there will be many more people that achieve success and that uplift their surroundings. In a society where hopelessness prevails and ambition is met with suspicion, anyone ambitious or successful will soon leave for greener pastures. So, to really fight poverty at large, you have to move the general mindset towards a fundamental believe that a better future is possible.

immibis 3y ago

Even worse: What if the drive of "I can improve this" doesn't exist because they actually can't improve this? Then changing the mindset won't help.

wolframhempel 3y ago
Not sure there is anything that just "can't be improved" no matter what. Of course, things can be incredibly hard - but even in the poorest regions under the most extrusive of governments, there are ways to carve out niches.
- TheOtherHobbes 3y ago
  Which often involve drugs and gang violence. That's not rhetoric. There's ample evidence linking poverty and inequality with crime. The reasons are complex, but it's not hard to suspect that crime is the most accessible and rewarding career choice when other options aren't available. Crime is risky, but the rewards are immediate and obvious. Businesses and self-employment are riskier financially and less risky personally, but the rewards are more distant. Entrepreneurial mentoring schemes - for example - will always struggle to fix problems that are rooted in aggressive economic apartheid.

dkarl 3y ago

> But what if that drive simply isn't there? I'd argue there are always exceptions, people who have initiative and drive despite growing up in conditions that would not seem to foster them, and giving the exceptions a chance to succeed will raise the spirits and expectations of the next generation. It makes a huge difference to children to be able to point to examples they can follow, even if they're rare. Of course you can't lean on that as your only solution. It isn't going to do much to diminish other systematic barriers, and it makes it easier for privileged people to deny the existence of barriers. Providing a little bit of opportunity and fostering the success of a few individuals doesn't give society a license to neglect other aspects of the problem.

wolframhempel 3y ago
Of course - societies are heterogeneous - there's always exceptional people that could be a prove to others that change is indeed possible. I think, however, that fighting poverty is a numbers game. In a society that values entrepreneurship and striving towards a better live at its core, there will be many more people that achieve success and that uplift their surroundings. In a society where hopelessness prevails and ambition is met with suspicion, anyone ambitious or successful will soon leave for greener pastures. So, to really fight poverty at large, you have to move the general mindset towards a fundamental believe that a better future is possible.