One factor that has contributed to the persistence of poverty emanates from existing societal images that portray the economically deprived in negative ways and limit policy on their behalf. This article reviews literature on conceptions that adults and children have about poverty. What emerges from the review is a portrait of a society content with the status quo, in which a predisposition to “blame the victim” provides moral justification for the disenfranchisement of millions from the economic mainstream. The literature review has implications for analyzing the socialization processes, whereby stereotypes about the poor are cultivated in children, and for designing educational interventions to counter conformist thinking.
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