Dr. Tom Palmer and I answer that question with a resounding yes! in our new book Development with Dignity: Self-determination, Localization, and the End to Poverty, available now from the Routledge publishing house. But why does it matter, and what does "dignity" really mean? To so many people around the world, it means access to institutions that protect their rights to earn a living, own property, and build better lives for themselves. They need liberty, not just more of the free things that are the tools of traditional foreign aid. They can solve their own problems when they are respected, not patronized. Local problems require local solutions, as we show in our book.

A dignity-centered approach to international development relies on local knowledge and problem-solving. Atlas Network and its hundreds of partners secure the liberty and dignity of people to lead their own development solutions. Our experience has demonstrated the power and potential of this model, which Tom and I explain in our new book.

We can build a freer, more prosperous world when we start respecting the dignity of those in poverty. Will you join us in putting the fight against poverty on the right path? I encourage you to pick up a copy of Development with Dignity today.

If your audience would benefit from learning more about the book or dignity-centered development, please don't hesitate to fill out this form to request Tom or me as an in-person or virtual speaker or as a guest on a podcast.