John Kenneth Galbraith was an economics professor at Harvard University, a speechwriter for both Adlai Stevenson and John F. Kennedy and a U.S. ambassador to India. He was also among the few economists to address what the country should do about poverty.
Galbraith thought there were two kinds of poverty: "case poverty" and "insular poverty." Case poverty is restricted to an individual and families and is caused by conditions such as alcoholism, mental deficiency, disabilities and discrimination.
Insular poverty, on the other hand, affects a group in a given area, what he called "islands" within the larger society. Galbraith suggested that places like Appalachia or inner-city slums where most people live at or below the poverty line are examples of insular poverty.
Why is this germane to the discussion of police-community relations? People in poor minority neighborhoods are victims of both case poverty (discrimination) and insular poverty (being surrounded by more affluent areas).
If decision makers in Baltimore can start by first asking residents themselves what they want they can get a clearer picture of what kinds of changes are needed and how they can best be implemented.
Timothy J. Johnson, Columbia