A New Dichotomy

Gerardo Rivera Ungson and Sixto K. Roxas

Chapter 1 in From Alleviation to Empowerment:Ruminations on Poverty, Capitalism, and Communities, 2026, pp 5-20 from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

Abstract: “When will you be coming back?” This impassioned plea came from a participant from a Conditional Cash Transfer Program, a government-run initiative that provides cash disbursements to impoverished households and communities, provided that they meet essential health, nutritional, and educational requirements. At the inception of this face-to-face meeting, the participants were surprised that an academician was even talking to them. In this meeting, the participants shared their modest business ventures arising from feelings of self-worth and accomplishments. With more opportunities, they suggested, they could do much more to help themselves and be less dependent on others. This meeting, augmented by subsequent visitations, reinforced the belief that people experiencing poverty do not simply want to see their condition alleviated but are empowered to improve their well-being and end intergenerational poverty…

Keywords: Poverty; Poverty Alleviation; Poverty Eradication; Inter-generational Poverty; Environmental Degradation; Sustainable Development; Community Empowerment; Social Accounting; Human Settlements; Development Economics; Unsustainable Development; Ecological Sustainability; Capitalism; Free Market; Economic Orthodoxy; Classical Economics: Marx; Radical Economics; Bretton Woods; Sectoral Development; Sectoral Specializations; Neo-liberalism; Enterprise Management; Modern Corporation; Modern Enterprises; Microfinance; Entrepreneurship; Social Enterprises; Capacity Building; Conditional Cash Transfer; Mainstream Growth Theory; Biogenesis; Mechanistic Worldview; Jurgen Habermas; Spectrum of Consciousness; Communitarian Movement; Moral Capitalism; Humane Economy; Enterprise Logic; Communitarian Logic; Ekistics; Enterprise Accounting; Community-based Accounting System; Social Accounting; Valuation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I32 O15 O18 Q01 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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