I think it was my friend Robyn who recommended that I read UnPoverty by Mark Lutz. The book dives into the micro-enterprise world, which is a method of providing small loans to the poorest of the poor. But this is much, much more than an overview of micro-enterprise. Lutz shares the plight of the poor with stories about their lives. He writes in a way that expresses his own humility. He shares his amazement at the perseverance of the poor, the lessons we can learn from the poor, and the ways we can make a difference. Lutz makes a bold statement: severe poverty can be eliminated in his lifetime. You gotta like a book that thinks big like that!
The ideas in the book are not groundbreaking, but the stories are powerful and insightful in ways that most books of this type never achieve. Lutz contrasts the life of the poor with the life of the rich in the West, and he points out how our lives are lacking in significant ways. Family, community, faith, etc., are all uniquely more meaningful to the poor and Lutz brings that out. Without specifically saying so, he presents a strong argument for how we can learn from the poor (an argument I’ve pushed for years … see my blog post Gates of Hell to read more of my thoughts). Perhaps my only criticism of the book is that taken as a whole the topics begin to feel like Western culture bashing; Lutz consistently paints our Western culture in the dreariest of lights that I feel is oversimplified (likewise, he only gives passing admission that the poor are not all living lives of strong community, faith, family, etc.). Then again, I may not be his target audience for the book; he may be trying to reach those who have an idealistic viewpoint about our culture and have never truly engaged the poorest of the poor. If that’s the goal, he’s hit it on the head and I applaud that. This is an excellent book and one worth reading. It actually reminded me of my own work with PathLight, though Lutz is focusing mostly on micro-enterprise and not specifically on education.
To learn more about UnPoverty, click the book cover below and it will take you to their website.
