The child poverty issue has raised its head again, and brings with it the familar feelings of guilt, hopelessness and frustration. Unless you're Gordon Brown or (hopefully) Barack Obama there's very little you can do. But it made me think about poverty of thought.
In the meritocracy that we are fortunate enough to live in it is possible (although unfortunately not likely) that a child's poverty-stricken upbringing need not necessarily affect the rest of its life. However, poverty of thought can blight someone forever. The young people that slip through the educational or social care net may never get the chance to view their own lives objectively. If you feel restricted and limited by your situation then you are not able to gain any perspective on the changes you could make.
The danger in talking about this is it is a very First world issue. It is so easy to lose sight of the fact that having the luxury of addressing the issue of poverty of thought, rather than simply life-sapping poverty, puts us in the top 10% of the world's population.