Life at the bottom: the worldview that makes the underclass

Why do so many of the poor, especially those in developed countries such as the UK, remain poor? Theodore Dalrymple, one of my favourite authors, offers hard-hitting and perhaps refreshing arguments along with heart-wrenching real-life examples of how one's worldview plays a large part in determining the quality of one's life--in emotional, psychological and material terms.

He has many illuminating essays online; I offer two here for a sampling: "We Want No Education"; and "Do Sties Make Pigs?"