Book SummaryWhen Helping Hurts, by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of When Helping Hurts

In When Helping Hurts, Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, two experts in finance and poverty alleviation working at the Chalmers Center, a Christian non-profit, explain how poverty relief efforts can reinforce the recipients’ sense of powerlessness, especially when administered in a spirit of paternalism. When this happens, it undermines the program’s effectiveness because the sense of powerlessness is an even more fundamental component of poverty than a lack of physical resources.

In this guide, we’ll first discuss the authors’ exposition of the problems with common methods of poverty alleviation. Then we’ll consider the solutions they propose.

Most of Corbett and Fikkert’s observations come from Christian ministries to the poor, and the authors also have a background in evangelical Christianity. The book’s original target audience was North American Christians, and especially church leaders who might be involved in planning short-term missions or other programs to help the poor. While we’ve preserved the authors’ advice to church leaders in this guide, we’ll also explore the implications of their advice for people outside of Christianity.

The Problems With Current Poverty Alleviation Efforts

Corbett and Fikkert identify a number of problems that commonly affect short-term missions and poverty alleviation efforts. Combining a few of the more closely related ones, we can present them as three basic mistakes: providing aid with the wrong mentality, providing the wrong kind of aid, and having the wrong people administer it.

Proving Aid With the Wrong Mentality

Corbett and Fikkert assert that thinking of poverty in strictly material terms is problematic because it leads us to provide assistance in ways that actually make the root of the problem worse.

(Shortform note: Other authors have applied the principle that trying to solve a problem before you correctly define its root cause can be counterproductive to a variety of problems other than poverty. For example, in Principles: Life and Work, Ray Dalio discusses the importance of identifying root causes when solving business problems.)

The authors cite extensive studies showing that when poor people are asked what it means to be poor, they tend to define poverty in terms that are more psychological than physical. From this, they deduce that poverty is fundamentally a mental state of shame and powerlessness more than a physical lack of money or other resources.

There is still a connection between material and psychological poverty: Not having the resources to take care of yourself and your family tends to produce a mental state of shame and powerlessness. And this mental state saps your initiative, which hinders your efforts to earn money or accumulate wealth, creating a vicious cycle.

The Root Cause of Poverty

Corbett and Fikkert trace the root cause of poverty even deeper, arguing that the psychological state of poverty is caused by the broken relationships that resulted from the Fall of Man, as recorded in the Bible. They argue that when the first humans fell into sin, it damaged their relationships with God, each other, the rest of creation, and even with themselves.

When these relationships were broken, people were no longer able to fulfill their God-given role as masters of God’s creation, managing earth’s resources in a way that would allow them to support themselves, benefit society, and glorify God. Because we fail to live up to the role that we were created for, we experience the psychological state of poverty: feelings of shame and powerlessness.

Corbett and Fikkert note that since everyone suffers the effects of the Fall, everyone is “poor” in a spiritual sense. Nevertheless, they stress that material poverty is particularly difficult to get out of because of the vicious cycle we discussed above.

Secular Perspective on the Root Cause of Poverty

In Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, T. Harv Eker similarly argues that the root cause of poverty (and wealth) is psychological rather than physical, but he arrives at this conclusion based on a different line of reasoning and develops it in a secular context. Let’s briefly compare and contrast Eker’s perspective with Corbett and Fikkert’s.

Eker asserts that material poverty is caused by a mental state of powerlessness and low self-esteem, which leads to poor money management. This mirrors Corbett and Fikkert’s definition of poverty.

But whereas Corbett and Fikkert trace these feelings of shame and powerlessness back to the fall of Adam and Eve, Eker only traces it back to the childhood of the poor person in question. He says the feelings and beliefs that determine your financial success or failure are conditioned by your upbringing, creating a threshold of wealth that you’re not likely to exceed. He refers to this threshold as your “financial setpoint.” At a subconscious level, you’re not comfortable managing more money than your financial setpoint, leading you to make mistakes that sabotage your efforts to make more money.

These two perspectives aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive: The bad experiences that might affect a person’s ability to manage money generally involve broken relationships and “fallen” human nature.

The Result of the Wrong Mentality

According to Corbett and Fikkert, **when people fail to understand the psychological nature of poverty and its spiritual roots, it makes...

When Helping Hurts Summary Shortform Introduction

When Helping Hurts encourages Christians to take an honest look at the way they approach poverty alleviation at home and overseas to determine whether their efforts are causing more harm than good. The authors explain how poverty relief efforts can reinforce the recipients’ sense of powerlessness, especially when administered in a spirit of paternalism. This undermines their effectiveness because the sense of powerlessness is an even more fundamental component of poverty than the lack of material resources. After exploring this problem, the authors recommend ways to improve our poverty alleviation strategies so that we can genuinely help impoverished communities.

About the Authors

Brian Fikkert

Brian Fikkert is a Professor of Economics and Community Development and the Founder and President of the Chalmers Center. Prior to becoming a professor at Covenant College in 1997, he was a professor at the University of Maryland, College Park and a research fellow at the Center for Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector (IRIS), which is recognized internationally for its research and expertise on economic growth...

When Helping Hurts Summary Part 1: Understanding the Poverty Problem

When Helping Hurts encourages Christians to take an honest look at the way they approach poverty alleviation at home and overseas to determine whether their efforts are causing more harm than good.

Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, two experts in finance and poverty alleviation working at Christian non-profit the Chalmers Center, explain how poverty relief efforts can reinforce the recipients’ sense of powerlessness, especially when administered in a spirit of paternalism. When this happens, it undermines the program’s effectiveness because the sense of powerlessness is an even more fundamental component of poverty than lack of physical resources.

After exploring this problem, Corbett and Fikkert discuss ways to improve our poverty alleviation strategies so that we can genuinely help impoverished communities. In this guide, we’ll present their concerns and their proposed solutions, with additional perspectives from other authorities on poverty such as Amartya Sen.

Further, because the book’s original target audience is North American Christians and especially church leaders, we’ll also explore the implications of their advice for people outside of Christianity to some...

Shortform Exercise: Understand and Repair Your Negative Worldviews

Reflect on your views on God, yourself, others, and creation, and consider how negative feelings and opinions about them might limit your potential.

Reflect on your views on God, yourself, others (family, friends, humans in general), and creation (the planet, with its ecosystems and natural resources). Identify at least two negative feelings you’ve recently had about each of them. (For example, have you been irritated with anyone lately?)

When Helping Hurts Summary Part 2: Adopting the Right Mindset on Poverty Alleviation

As we saw in Part 1, many people misunderstand the nature of poverty, thinking it’s just a lack of resources, when in reality it’s a psychological state of shame and powerlessness. Corbett and Fikkert further observe that this misunderstanding is frequently compounded by a deep-seated and often subconscious belief that we’re better than the people we’re trying to help. We’ll refer to this unhelpful mindset as a “superiority complex.” In Part 2, we’ll first consider their general advice on developing the right mindset, and then look at the specific superiority complexes that they say you need to repent of.

Overcoming Superiority Complexes

Corbett and Fikkert point out that superiority complexes get in the way of building relationships, which is crucial in poverty alleviation because, as we discussed in Part 1, the root cause of poverty is broken relationships with God, oneself, others, and creation. As such, they say the key to cultivating the right mindset for effective poverty alleviation is to see the poor as equals—fellow humans that you want to work with for mutual good, not inferior beings that you need to save from themselves.

(Shortform note: In _[High...

Shortform Exercise: Examine Your Cultural Values

Examine your cultural values and how they influence your attitude toward people of other cultures.

Think about contact you’ve had with someone from another culture. This could be anything from a long-term relationship to a single interaction. Describe the person as well as the extent of your contact with them.

When Helping Hurts Summary Part 3: Taking the Right Approach to Poverty Alleviation

In Part 2 we discussed Corbett and Fikkert’s advice on the importance of doing poverty alleviation with the right mindset and the various superiority complexes that you need to guard against in order to cultivate the right mindset. In Part 3, we’ll discuss their advice on how to practically approach poverty alleviation, including some common problems they've observed with current approaches and how to design more effective interventions.

Let the Right People Craft the Approach

Corbett and Fikkert advise that sometimes other people or other organizations are in a better position to minister to a given community than you or your church are. If that’s the case, you should let the people who are most qualified to do the project take charge of it and either humbly ask them what you can do to help or turn your attention to a different need that you’re better equipped to meet.

The authors pose three questions to ask yourself before taking on any poverty alleviation project. If you can’t confidently answer “yes” to all three questions, don’t take the project.

1. Do you fully understand the situation, including relevant local customs and culture? If not, don’t take...

Shortform Exercise: Consider if You’re the Right Person to Intervene

Ask yourself if you’re the right person to intervene in an impoverished community by answering Corbett and Fikkert’s three questions about your suitability.

Think of an impoverished community that you’ve recently heard about on the news or otherwise come in contact with. Describe the situation in as much detail as you can. How completely do you think you understand the culture of that community and the situation its people face?

When Helping Hurts Summary Part 4.1: Effective Solutions｜Local Interventions

In Part 3, we discussed how we have to change our approach for our poverty alleviation efforts to be effective. In Part 4, we’ll explore specific strategies to provide aid.

The authors point out that churches are often best equipped to help the poor in their own communities. And while missions to alleviate poverty in developing nations may get more press, there are still poor people and poor communities in North America. So in Part 4.1, we’ll start with a discussion of the poverty intervention programs that North American churches can most readily implement in their own neighborhoods.

But before we address the programs that Corbett and Fikkert say your church can use to help the poor in your local area, we need a clear picture of what poverty looks like in the contemporary United States (the “local” context of Corbett and Fikkert’s original audience).

Components of Local Poverty

As we discussed earlier, broken relationships give rise to broken systems, and broken systems can trap people in poverty. Corbett and Fikkert identify five broken systems that trap the poor in poverty in the United States.

Inadequate Employment Opportunities: The authors observe that job...

Shortform Exercise: Address the Needs of Your Community

Consider the unique problems of your community and brainstorm possible solutions.

Think about some of the problems that people in your community face. If helpful, consider if any of the five systems the authors identify is broken in your community (employment opportunities, education, financial stability, affordable housing, affordable healthcare).

When Helping Hurts Summary Part 4.2: Effective Solutions｜Short-Term Mission Trips

In Part 4.1, we explored specific solutions your church may be able to implement to help the poor in your area. In Part 4.2, we’ll shift our focus to short-term mission trips and discuss their history, risks, and the actions a church can take to prevent them from causing harm and make them more beneficial.

History and Risks of Short-Term Missions

According to Corbett and Fikkert, short-term mission trips (STMs) have been a popular approach to poverty alleviation since 1989. STMs typically last two weeks or less, during which time a team of volunteers travels to a community in need to provide assistance. Historically, they’ve been fueled by positive press praising their impact, particularly the impact on the missionaries themselves.

However, Corbett and Fikkert argue that in reality, STMs frequently embody many of the issues we’ve already discussed regarding harmful approaches to poverty alleviation, such as paternalism, cultural superiority, the inappropriate application of relief, and need-based approaches. Volunteers participating in an STM don’t stay around long enough to see the long-term impact of their work, potentially making them oblivious to the harm that...

When Helping Hurts Summary Part 4.3: Effective Solutions｜Global Interventions

In Part 4.2, we discussed how you can manage STMs to reduce the risk of harming the communities that you’re trying to help. In Part 4.3, we’ll widen the scope and consider Corbett and Fikkert’s discussion of poverty alleviation in developing countries more generally, the pros and cons of different models, and what North American churches can do to support those efforts.

As we alluded to in the previous section, Corbett and Fikkert argue that short-term missions, by themselves, aren’t particularly effective in encouraging long-term development, which is what poor people usually need. They argue that the most impactful—and least harmful—way for North American churches to alleviate poverty outside of their local communities is to support long-term development efforts by frontline organizations that are already at work.

They identify microfinance as a particularly effective tool for catalyzing long-term development and helping poor people in developing countries improve their lives and businesses. So we’ll discuss microfinance first and then consider some other ways to support development.

Microfinance

**Microfinance (MF) consists of very small loans (anywhere from a...