Elite economists blamed poverty on the supposed deficiencies of the poor themselves

Evidence

This worldview seduces many of us daily, to the point where we respect those at the top of the pyramid and feel at least somewhat annoyed by those who fail to succeed—including our own children. As Pantaleoni remarked: “The classes with lower incomes are significantly deficient in comparison to others, so much so that this deficiency is the cause of their lower income, and not that the lower income is the cause of the deficiency.” — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 226

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the moral-panic and scapegoating dynamics seen in the modesty and sacrifice articles—blaming victims rather than structures. — connects to: American conservatives blamed poverty on personal failings while favoring free competition — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1587; Economists blamed working-class morality for postwar inflation. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 13; Italian economists blamed poverty on working-class moral defects rather than economic causes — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 1141 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Italian economists blamed poverty on working-class moral defects rather than economic causes #exemplifies (0.95) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1141
• Development economics RCTs blame individuals while ignoring poverty’s structural causes #corroborates (0.85) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 289
• Rulers blamed pauperism on the poor’s lack of work discipline. #exemplifies (0.85)
• The bad-apples framing deflects blame from systemic causes #expands (0.80)
• French social-science thinking redirected blame for poverty onto environments and germs #contradicts (0.80) — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 148