In his latest big project, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof prescribes hope as the solution to poverty. It’s another dose of misinformation that prevents viewers from recognizing the systemic roots of gross inequality.

Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn argue in A Path Appears, a new book and three-part PBS series, that donating $20 to well-run nonprofit organizations — plus program evaluations and scientific research — can give children all over the world the opportunity to reach their potential.

But their call for action ignores the structural factors that actually cause people to live without sufficient nutrition, health care, and shelter amid great wealth. The capitalist system that produces this misery is entirely absent from their presentation.