Chapter 3: Class and the Politics of Living Simply Summary and Analysis

As a child in church, Bell was taught that the poor were closer to God because they lived simply. The scriptures told her that Jesus said that whatever is done for the least is done for Him. In Bell's community the sharing of resources was common. This sharing was admirable but no one made an overt connection to how capitalism affected everyone's life and how slavery had paved the way for it. Neighbors gave Bell's family clothing and other items when there was a need just as Bell's family gave such gifts when others were without. The poor were often ridiculed and humiliated. The only result Bell observed as a poor child was that poverty caused shame on an individual as well as a communal level.

Bell...