Poverty of thought

"The Philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." And when it comes to meaningful change, most philosphers do not have a clue. Take, for example, Esther Duffo. She is lauded by some as France's most feted thinker, and perhaps the world's greatest expert on the effectivness or otherwise of anti-poverty programmes. Biting at her heels in this field is Peter Singer, a Princeton philosopher with a 'practical plan to help eradicate world poverty'. Both are in fact good examples of the poverty of philosophy. Both seek change within the context of capitalism. Duflo expouses a "third way", making anti-poverty programmes work better, whereas Singer wants us all to dig deep in our pockets, find a few more crumbs and give them to those who have even less and who are ever-hungry for more. Both fail to recognize, despite the wealth of evidence to the contrary, that poverty - much like so many other 'problems' endemic to capitalism - cannot be reformed away.

By contrast, Socialists see poverty as the economic, social, and living conditions endured by the working class compared to those of the capitalist class. Poverty is shopping in the super-market and buying food not of top quality because you are operating within the limitations of a wage packet. Poverty is buying clothes and living in dwellings, again of inferior quality, because you cannot afford to go beyond your budget. Poverty is going on vacation and putting up with second rate mass transportation, accommodations, and food, because these commodities are produced for the specific con­sumption of wage workers. Poverty is having to save for a so called rainy day-the rich don't save - they accumulate - there is a vast difference. Poverty is having to spend a lifetime scrimping to get by, as glorified scavengers ever-seeking cheap, inferior merchandise in order to survive.

Philosophers such as Duflo and Singer seek reform rather revolution, and for poverty to be made more endurable rather than eradicated. Marx was right to dismiss the inadquacies of such thought: "Philosophy stands in the same relation to the study of the actual world as masturbation to sexual love."