Join us for the London launch and discussion of Dr Máximo E. Jaramillo-Molina’s new book, Pobres porque quieren: Mitos de la desigualdad y la meritocracia (Poor Because They Want To Be: Myths of Inequality and Meritocracy). Máximo is a Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity (AFSEE) programme and Associate Professor at the Centre for Social Sciences and Humanities (CUCSH), University of Guadalajara.
In this book, AFSEE Senior Fellow Máximo E. Jaramillo-Molina explains how the narrative of meritocracy works to legitimize extremes of wealth and poverty. In seven chapters, he debunks myths such as ‘poor people are poor because they want to be’ and ‘anyone can become a millionaire through hard work and talent,’ that underpin the narrative of meritocracy in societies characterized by extreme and spiraling poverty, such as Mexico.
Poor Because They Want to Be calls on us to refute ideas such as these, which encourage an individualistic view of the world while ignoring the fact that personal achievements are collective results and a product of their context. This book is a compelling argument that Mexico's poor aren't that way because they want to be; instead, poverty exists because of the unequal distribution of wealth, because of oppression, domination and exploitation. This reality must be understood before transformative social change is possible.
Following a presentation by Máximo, Professor Jenny Pearce (discussant), will share her comments on the book.
Speaker
Dr Máximo Ernesto Jaramillo-Molina
Dr Máximo Ernesto Jaramillo-Molina is an Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity and a researcher and activist dedicated to fighting inequality. He is Associate Professor at CUCSH, University of Guadalajara and the Co-founder of Institute of Studies on Inequality (INDESIG), based in Mexico.
Speaker
Professor Jenny Pearce
Professor Jenny Pearce is a Visiting Professor at the International Inequalities Institute at LSE. Her research has centred on understanding participation and social agency for change; theorising violence and security in Latin America; and the impact of violence on agency and action. She works with anthropological and participatory research methodologies on social change, violence, security, power and participation in the region and beyond.
Chair
Professor Armine Ishkanian
Armine Ishkanian is the Executive Director of the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity programme and Professor in the Department of Social Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her research examines the relationship between civil society, democracy, development, and social transformation.