Book review: "Leave No One Behind" ii #LNOB
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| Leave No One Behind |
Ordinarily, the word 'ultra' I'd associate with science, closely followed by branding-speak and then the realm of super heroes. Sad then that for ultra-poverty, neither science nor commerce has the answer and there's no super hero to call upon. Science and commerce are part of the answer to ultra-poverty, as the book also highlights but there is no time to wait: 2030 ...
Ultra-poverty is defined (p.43):
"A useful lens through which to view ultra-poverty is economist Amartya Sens definition of poverty as a "deprivation of basic capabilities," including the freedoms and choices that most of us take for granted, specifically "the substantive freedoms [a person] enjoys to lead the kind of life he or she has reason to value. In this perspective, poverty must be seen as the deprivation of basic capabilities rather than merely as lowness of incomes, which is the standard criterion of identification of poverty."
In mental illness - health nursing you recognise early on the significance of hopelessness and helplessness (p.44). From the news over successive decades you hear the trials and debate of those on 'benefit' stuck in a 'poverty' trap. Is poverty relative, absolute or both? I was really struck with the connection to psychological therapy, literacy overall and 'health literacy' specifically, when a person cannot imagine that a better world is possible (p.45) for them. They cannot envision. I've stressed here the importance of 'information' as a concept and Coates and MacMillan literally bring information theory home. This when the choice is: do you walk seven miles to have a child vaccinated, or work? Everyday, brings multiple choices, that we can 'dodge' (usually) in the developed nations.
The 'science of hope' lives through information. On this blog, in a quest for holistic, integrated (physical, mental, social, political, pastoral) care I have written of the need to attend to 'holistic bandwidth'. In our assessments and evaluations do we consider all the factors? Coates and MacMillan provide a gift:
"Mullainathan and Shafir call this the 'present-day cognitive load of making ends meet,' and it is especially acute for those living in ultra-poverty" (p.45).
I like also the way 'cognitive load' is utilised here as in technology enhanced learning, human-computer interfaces and web design. There is a connection too - with studies on parenting and when norms are stressed and the impact on children.
The key of this chapter is "graduation" or "productive inclusion" and breaking out of the poverty trap.
Online and irony intended coaches appear to be two-a-penny. Here a set of interventions includes coaching and the issue of what is the best approach:
- Livelihood training
- Cash
- Productive assets
- Savings
It struck me here a synergy with the timed early intervention in psychosis of two-years.
How to prevent relapse and for the ultra-poor how they are post-intervention still poor (p.47).
Studies (inc. London School of Economics - RCT) are explained to compare graduation with unconditional cash transfer. Reading of DIBS - Development Impact Bonds, I thought of Care Impact Bonds, even Social Care? While I make such comparisons, the message is clear that ultra-poverty is qualitatively different from other forms of poverty. Likewise with the use of 'cognitive load' elsewhere - in education: for the ultra-poor this:
"... bears down like a weight too great to lift. Poverty is, at heart, a deprivation of one's capacity to be fully human - to dream, to plan, to arrange one's imagination to see a better future. The graduation approach offers a way out." (p.55).http://www.brac.net/program/ultra-poor-graduation/
I note the science of hope is still emerging.
| My choices of the day ... cognitive load ... | information |
| social infrastructure social capital |
Homi Kharas, John W. McArthur and Izumi Ohno, (Eds.) 2020. Leave No One Behind: Time for Specifics on the Sustainable Development Goals, Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.
orcid.org/0000-0002-0192-8965