1、II.Outline of the essayPart 1(para.1-2):The oldest project in“getting the poor off our conscience”Part 2(para.3-9):5 historical solutions Part 3(para.10-11):a transitionPart 4(para.12-20):5 current designs Part 5:(para 21):conclusion6.Why the author chooses such a title as this essay?Look at the fol
2、lowing photos.Millions and millions of people are struggling for their survival,thousands and thousands of people die of hunger,cold and illness.While Millennium Development Goals are to meet the needs of the worlds poorest”,do you think the author really tries to call people to get the poor off the
3、ir conscience?“Plutarch was led to say”implies that it was the actual existence of the rich and poor or the logic of his analysis that made him come to such a conclusion:If the Rome republic suffered from the same problems 2,000 years ago,it proves the authors point that poverty is a perpetual(perma
4、nent)problem.6.And the problems that arise from the continuing have been an intellectual preoccupation for centuries.:The main idea of this statement is that for centuries those with high intellect have been searching for explanations to justify the coexistence of the rich and poor.Part 2:historical
5、 research para.3 The first solution(next-life theory)4.Does the author really think that this is an admirable solution?No,he doesnt.He is being ironical here.He calls it“an admirable solution”because now the rich“get the poor off their conscience”.Para.4:The second solution(utilitarianism)1.The Weal
6、th of Nations by Adam Smith It is symbolic that Adam Smiths masterpiece of economic analysis,The Wealth of Nations,was first published in 1776,the same year as the Declaration of Independence.He argued passionately in favor of free trade and the most eloquent-integrated description of the workings o
7、f a market economy,which continues to influence our economy right up to the present day.4.“By the principle of utility”“is meant the principle which”:The normal word order should be:utilitarianism is meant the principle which proves by the principle of utility.According to Bentham,the principle of u
8、tilitarianism means that an action is judged by whether it will increase or decrease the benefits of those who are affected by the action.5.utilitarianism is a general philosophical idea like idealism.which means the greatest happiness of the greatest number.Utilitarianism is the moral doctrine that
9、 we should always act to produce the greatest possible balance of good over had for everyone affected by our action.Consequently,the greatest happiness of all constitutes the standard that determines whether an action is right or wrong.If they promote the greatest human welfare actions are right,if
10、they do not actions are wrong.Para.5:the third solution(poor peoples fault)1.This is associated with the name of David Ricardo,a stockbroker,and Thomas Robert Malthus,a divine.Stockbroker:a person whose job is buying and selling shares for those with money(investor).A stockbroker can easily earn big
11、 money through the commission which depends on the amount of money the investor invests,while it is very hard for the investor to earn money in the stock market,because of the high risk.9.The poverty of the poor was the fault of the poor.And it was so because it was a product of their fecundity:The
12、poverty of the poor was caused by their having too many children.Para.6:Malthusianism(马尔塞斯人口论)11.the rich were not responsible for either its creation or its amelioration:The rich were not to blame for the existence of poverty so they should not be asked to undertake the task of solving the problem.
13、12.However,Malthus was himself not without a certain responsibility:He urged that as a fully effective method of birth control:What warning did Malthus urge that the marriage ceremony should contain?Why?14.Couples in love should repair to R.H.Macys,not their bedroom:It implies that couples will find
14、 their pockets not that heavy while they look around the market,which will push them to work hard for money rather than enjoy their love in their bedrooms for having too many children.This statement ridicules Reagans view that the best form of population control comes from the market.Para.7:the fort
15、h solution(Social Darwinism-survival of the fittest)Para.9:the fifth solution(more vague denial of poverty)1.It declined in popularity,and references to it acquired a condemnatory tone:People began to reject Social Darwinism because it seemed to glorify brutal force and oppose treasured values of sy
16、mpathy,love and friendship.Therefore,when it was mentioned,it was usually the target of criticism.Para.(10-11):a transition18.Why does the author call it a revolution?Because it broke away from the traditional conception that the federal government was not responsible for social welfare.The Social S
17、ecurity Act of 1935 laid foundation for the current social welfare system of the United States.Readers can easily sense that the author is for the revolution.19.What did people feel when a number of social welfare measures were put into practice?Were they right in thinking so?(para.10)People felt th
18、at the policy of ignoring the poor and refusing assistance had been abandoned.Since the government was making efforts to relieve the misery of the poor,they did not need to pay attention to any more.They were not completely right.The government did take many measures,but the desire to get the poor o
19、ff our conscience still lingered on,waiting for chances to come back.20.the search for a way of getting the poor off our conscience was not at an end;it was only suspended:The oldest human exercises of getting the poor off our conscience had not been ceased.It had only been stopped temporarily.23.It
20、 has again become,and an economically not unrewarding enterprise:Searching the way of getting the poor off our conscience has again become the overriding task of those philosophers,men of letters,and speechmakers,which is a moneymaking business.Para.12:the first design24.design:plan27.What is the ar
21、gument of the first design?The argument is:Most of the assistance to the poor has to be undertaken by the government,but the government is in essence incompetent and ineffective and will make a mess of the job.Therefore,the government should not be asked to aid the poor.27.What is the essence of the
22、 first design?The essence of the first design is to take away the responsibility to aid the poor from the government and to put an end to the social welfare policies since the New Deal.Para.13:analysis of the first design28.In paragraph 12 and 13,the author,on three occasions,mentions the pentagon o
23、r national defense.Why does he make these references?The author wants to point out the ironical fact that those people who attack the government or the bureaucracy will not include the military establishment.They want the government to do less or nothing in social welfare but more on“national defens
24、e”.The author is highly critical of such a view.He opposes huge military expenditures.n31.We have great corporate bureaucracy and and toilet seats,(When these aberrations in the pentagon.)nWhat is the basic view of the author?nOn the whole,the author is positive about public service and government e
25、mployees.He thinks that the American government has recruited many talented and dedicated people.His criticism is directed at the military establishment.Para.14-15:the second designnThe second design is:Any form of public help to the poor will hurt the poor themselves.Such help will destroy poor peo
26、ples motivation,make them lazy and break up their marriages.This is another typical argument put forward today by the conservatives in the U.S.in the discussion of social welfare reform.35.Does the author agree to the argument?nNo,the author thinks the accusations are groundless.He further points ou
27、t that those who support the design have no way to prove that the damage of the aid to the poor is greater than the damage to them caused by a loss of public assistance.Para.16:the third designn39.The third design:When you give public assistance to the poor,you take money away(through taxes)from the
28、 rich and give it(in the form of public assistance)to the poor.The result is the rich become less willing to work hard and create wealth and the poor are encouraged to remain idle.40.The authors view:nThe author uses two rhetorical questions to counter the argument.He implies that it is not the case
29、 that most poor people would prefer welfare to paying job.As for corporate executives,they are working very hard,showing no sign of lack of incentive.To say they are being lazy because they are not paid enough is an insult to the business executives.(the author is using a clever retort here.)44.Beli
30、ef can be the servant of truth but even more of convenience:Belief can be useful in the research for truth.But more often than not it is accepted because it is convenient and self-serving.信念可以是真理的仆人，但更多的情况下，只是信念可以是真理的仆人，但更多的情况下，只是一时之需。一时之需。Para.17-18:the forth design:nThe forth design argues that tr
31、ansferring money from the rich to the poor through the government has bad effect on freedom.By freedom,the designers mean spending as much money as one sees fit and giving the government as little as possible.n45.This is possibly the most transparent of all the designs:No mention is ordinarily made
32、of the relation of income to the freedom of the poor:nThe author is being ironical when he uses the word“transparent”.He means it is the most obvious that when these people talk about freedom they only have in mind the freedom of the rich.Para.19:the fifth design:psychological denialn48.This is a ps
33、ychic tendency that in various manifestations is common to us all.nWe all have the tendency to close our eyes to unpleasant things or refuse to think about them.This tendency may take different forms.Para.20:summaryn52.These are the modern designs by which we escape concern for the poor:nThis is the
34、 topic sentence,serving as a summing-up of the previous paragraphs dealing with the five designs.It reemphasizes the nature of the design to make people escape concern for the poor.n54.Ronald Reagan and his colleagues are clearly in a notable tradition at the end of a long history of effort to escap
35、e responsibility for ones fellow beings:nRonald Reagan and his colleagues are mentioned because when the author wrote this article,Reagan and his colleagues was in the White House.In the 1980s,during Reagans time,conservatism prevailed and supply-side economics was dominant.After the Great Society i
36、n the 1960s,social welfare system suffered the first setback under the Reagan Administration.A contraction is social welfare set in.Hence the author remarked ironically.n55.that the poor must have the cruel spur of their own suffering to ensure effort:nonly when the poor suffer from great misery wil
37、l they be stimulated to make great efforts to change their situation.In other words,suffering is necessary to force the poor to work hard.Para.21:conclusionnIn the last part,the author subtly points out that public assistance to the poor is in the interest of conservatives.The ending seems not that
38、dramatic but it is in line with the mild irony of the whole piece.1.A brief summary of the essay:In the essay,the author brings up 5 historical solutions in presenting both historical solutions and current designs at first.He then concentrates on 5 current designs for getting the poor off our consci
39、ence.In presenting both historical solutions and current designs he expresses his critical attitudes implicitly.At the end of the essay,he warns the policy makers and people who are wealthy that civil discontent and its consequences do not come from contented people.”and that poverty is the permanen
40、t ailment of society.Five solutions:n1.The next life theoryn2.Utilitarianismn3.Poor peoples faultn4.Survival of the fittestn5.Vague denialFive designs:n1.Incompetent governmentn2.Harmful to the poorn3.Adverse effect on incentiven4.Adverse effect on freedomn5.Simple psychological denial2.The main idea of the essay:Based on the analysis of historical solutions and current designs,the author ironically criticizes the attitude of getting the poor off our conscience,on which the scholars and politicians have been elaborating for centuries.
