Helping Doesn't Always Help | Mauricio Lim Miller

"Writing about paternalism, philosophy professor Peter Suber, now with the Harvard Open Access Project, argues, "Paternalism is a temptation in every arena of life where people hold power over others." He continues: "Paternalists advance people's interests (such as life, health, or safety) at the expense of their liberty. In this, paternalists suppose that they can make wiser decisions than the people for whom they act. Sometimes this is based on presumptions about their own wisdom or the foolishness of other people, and can be dismissed as presumptuous. But sometimes it is not." I quote Suber here because I now believe presumptions by my professional colleagues in the social sector have hindered the war on poverty. The fact is many of us control--but do not fully understand--the social and economic experiences that make up the world of those we try to help. Thus, we are in danger of doing more harm than good...."