The Dependency Syndrome

• Charity Rightly Belongs to Emergency Response
• Giving Alms Trains Beggars
• The Broken Bone Analogy; Pain Killers (Alleviation)
• Money Transfers Do Not Generate (New) Wealth

Key points

While Charity is appropriate for emergency response, it is inappropriate for sustainable development. As much as it contributes to dependency, it sustains poverty. Giving alms trains the receiver to continue begging, whether the receiver be an individual, community or country, Money transfers simply shift money around, and do not, in themselves, create new wealth. Genuine income generation requires that new wealth be created, usually in the form of value added.

Reading

The Dependency Syndrome Discussion Handout Charity Rightly Belongs to Emergency Response Review Charity in Hidden Resources Discussion Handout Giving Alms Trains Beggars Read Wealth in Principles of Wealth Discussion paper The Broken Bone Analogy; Pain Killers (Alleviation) Read the Medical analogy in After the Disaster Money Transfers Do Not Generate (New) Wealth Read Assumptions in Principles of Wealth Generation Discussion Paper Wealth Key Words Entry

Outcomes

The student will be able to recognize dependency in a community and in a Government, knowing that this is a factor contributing to poverty. The student will be able to distinguish between appropriate uses of charity, such as during an emergency response, and inappropriate uses, such as sustainable development The student will recognize that giving alms trains the receiver to be more of a beggar The student will see the pedagogical value to the broken bone analogy in the shift from emergency response (charity) to the empowerment methodology (sustainable development) The student will recognize that money transfers may alleviate specific cases of poverty but does not solve the social problem of poverty The student will know the basics of income generation (formation of new wealth)