Bernard Hare's Poverty Is A State Of Mind

“Poverty is a state of mind” is an essay from 2012, where it was broadcast on BBC Radio 3. The essay is written by Bernard Hare, a former social worker, who now works as a writer. The text revolve around Hares child - and adulthood in and out of poverty and why this was his life for so long. Furthermore, he explains what inspired him to, once and for all, get out of this vicious circle and finally he writes about what he believes being poor actually is and what plays a role in being poor, for example negative social heritage and a person’s mindset.
The text consists of Bernard Hare telling his life story, in a chronological way, as he starts with his childhood as the child of a miner in Leeds, and then works up to his current life. While telling his story he incorporates his opinions, and at last finishes with his

One of the central contrasts in the text is the way he describes his childhood in poverty, and the way he describes “the Shed Crew”. These kids were what finally inspired him to quit the vicious circle. Hare writes that he, for the first ten years of his life was not aware that they were poor, and that there were love and warmth in the little community. The Shed Crew, however, is described in a completely different way. As an example the author writes, “The original "feral" youth, they made my childhood seem positively pastoral”. He believes that the poverty these kids live in is worse than the one he grew up in as they lack the things that he describe as the worst kind of poverty – hope and a place of belonging. He also highlights the importance of education; he describes his experiences with school as very positive and stimulating, while the case is completely different with the Shed Crew, “Only one of them was in school and she truanted most days. The others had long since been excluded or expelled. Most were on the run from the care