Combining the free market with democracy and education, capital financing, the promotion of the individual, along with freedom and entrepreneurship under fair rules is the most powerful fuel for eliminating poverty that has ever been devised, and it makes sense. In fighting poverty, this potent combination is better than religion and better than science in combating poverty, not in saving souls. Don’t get me wrong, eradicating poverty without nourishing the soul is counterproductive, but the real enemy is corruption. P. 162
I also concur with what Booker T. Washington said: “At the bottom of education, at the bottom of politics, even at the bottom of religion, there must be for our race economic independence.” Here is where our emphasis should be; economic independence – not handouts.
“What are the alternatives to family, culture, and religion?” I asked Ray and Paul a few days later, as the three of us were having coffee at Olé one morning. This time Paul was sitting with us. He was tall and skinny, his glasses kept sliding down his nose, and he had the habit of pushing them back with the wrong finger, giving you the impression that he was telling you something. Paul had a different way to go about things than we did. He said, “The alternative I propose is to have a system, devised by the state, which can do a better job than parents…, or culture…, or religion….”