He argues that illiteracy does not cause inequality; rather, it reflects it, and to some degree helps to reinforce it. He says, "cultural handicaps reflect, rather than produce, structures of inequality,"15 and "...illiteracy is not a causal factor, but rather, a symptom of a more deep-seated problem: that of maintaining the structures of inequality.,16 For this reason, Belanger is critical of the liberal remediation strategy:

If we try to change attitudes of the disadvantaged without developing a full employment plan or modifying social(class) relationships, are we not guilty of a serious affront to people ... imprisoned in our urban ghettoes and rural slums? ... Of course action at the cultural level is still required, but it can never be isolated from the harsh reality of social class relationships 17

Similarly, Berezowecki is pessimistic about the prospects of' an educational strategy in reducing inequality:

We must therefore ask if the gap separating the rich from the poor can be narrowed or closed. Can education help in this levelling process? Can it provide suitable employment and a decent income for all--including those who are now poor? Available evidence indicates that this will not be possible as long as present conditions prevail 18

In this light, Belanger analyzes what he sees as the failure of the Canada Manpower Training Program as an anti-poverty strategy. He suggests that the provision of academic upgrading and Job training, even as supplemented by innovations like human relations techniques, life skills training and individualized learning, cannot compensate for the nature of the society outside the classroom. Although in his view these are positive and desirable developments, he believes they cannot:

counterbalance the inequality caused by factors like the social (class) position of the participants & their poor living conditions, the national employment structure....19

For similar reasons, Serge Wagner, director of a. community-based literacy program in Montreal, "Crossroad", is pessimistic about the potential of literacy training as a strategy for alleviating the poverty in the Point St. Charles area:

In offering them literacy training we were not suggesting that they change places in the social structure: we were, rather, telling them to become better established in their position, since, even on an academic level alphabetization leads to a dead end: for those adults who do become literate, the school train will never lead to the university station. Literacy is not a tool for social mobility (even individual mobility). At the very most it enables lame ducks to catch the fourth class coach 20.