Question

It is 1970, and a development worker hopes to understand mexican peasant families before intervening to improve their lives. this development worker reads oscar lewis's "the culture of poverty" and interprets peasant life according to lewis's theory. what does the development worker conclude?

Answer 1

The development worker conclude that Peasants make rational but self-defeating choices,passing poverty on to subsequent generations.

For example, their decision to not pursuing further education is considered rational considering their situation (without works, their families wouldn't be able to survive), but at the same time, this decision is self-defeating because it prevents them from accessing high paying positions.