Love in the time of neoliberal impoverishment

 

Cover- Living on a Dollar a Day

This photo is from the new book “Living on a Dollar a Day” by Thomas A. Nazario, Renée C. Byer, & the Dalai Lama. Nazario, who is a law professor in San Francisco, operates a foundation addressing poverty through charity & volunteerism on the model of Nicholas Kristof. The politics are decidedly conformist & do-gooder with the distinct malodor of “white man’s burden.” The foundation frequently & favorably profiles detestable figureheads of neoliberal impoverishment like Christine Lagarde of the IMF, Bill Gates, & Obama. Nazario may be a swell guy but his politics & associations stink. Social transformation is required, not missionary work & do-gooding.

Regardless of Nazario’s political creepiness, Renée C. Byer, the photographer of this photo book has captured some remarkable faces. None more so than this small boy carrying his baby sibling. Children in poverty are not only employed in brickyards, fields, & mines, but take on childcare while their parents work. In the midst of all that squalor & the indignities of poverty, love remains transformational. And it’s written all over this young boy’s face.

May this little guy grow up to join the movements making our world suitable for human beings to live & love in.

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