On “the Culture of Shiftlessness”

On “the Culture of Shiftlessness”

Since its formulation almost 20 years ago by Oscar Lewis, the concept of “the culture of poverty” has been at the vortex of controversy. For some writers, it provides a key to the mystery of poverty. For others, it is merely an obfuscation that diverts us from the true causes of economic deprivation.

In its strongest version, the culture-of-poverty hypothesis states that a value system, or culture, which denigrates hard work, discipline, ambition, and the sacrifice of immed...