Excessive Individualism and the Rhetoric of Poverty: How Personal Responsibility and Dependency Do Not Teach a Man to Fish

Abstract

We live in a world where institutions can't be trusted, individualism is one of the highest shared values, and we miss a sense of community. How does this atmosphere and outlook on life affect our discussion of poverty? It affects the rhetoric. The words used to describe poverty have been shaped by our excessively individualistic mindset, which in turn shapes the way we think critically about issues pertaining to poverty. How can we accurately address issues of poverty when our language skews and limits our perception of poverty?