When Helping Hurts

In When Helping Hurts, Steve Corbett challenges the idea that helping the poor means swooping in during a time of crisis, throwing money and resources at the emergency, and then swooping out again like Superman off to save someone else. This idea of poverty alleviation can be seen in both Christian responses to poverty (e.g. short term mission trips) and government programs.

This book argues that simply giving money and resources can actually hurt the poor in many circumstances, especially when people are kept in perpetual poverty by broken systems and broken communities. Poverty is experienced less as a lack of material goods and more as an oppressive lack of freedom, dignity, and value. There are times of emergency for relief giving, but that should give way to empowerment and development.

Corbett shows how true relief involves allowing the poor themselves to take a hand in planning and implementing the programs of aid, as they know more about their culture and situation than the affluent folks coming from somewhere else. Throughout the book he attacks the wealth gospel idea that people with more money and resources are naturally more intelligent, righteous, and responsible than people who are poor. He says that both the people being ministered to and the people providing aid have to recognize their own brokenness and learn from one another.

The book provides clear principles and practical methods to implement relief and development programs. Most of the chapters deal with relieving poverty in other countries, but near the end of the book, Corbett also devotes some time to thinking about poverty relief in America as well. There were a few times I disagreed with his suggestions (e.g. throwing ever more money into our public school system) but overall this book was a welcome challenge to common misunderstandings among affluent American evangelicals.