David Brooks Is Mistaking Poverty's Symptoms For Its Causes
Article/Op-Ed in Talking Points Memo
March 16, 2015
Brooks worries that, for the poor, "there are no basic codes and rules woven into daily life, which people can absorb unconsciously and follow automatically." But there are codes! They simply happen to be punishing, degrading codes shaped by poverty and material and educational inequality. In short, norms are built on resources and opportunities.