Dealing with inflation by punishing the poor: does modern economis offer nothing?

My economics degree is thirty years out of date. Maybe someone with more recent studies under their belt can answer this.

After all these years of the science of economics: has there been any progress towards ways to target external inflationary shocks to an economy than solely applying the blunt force sledgehammer of increasing interest rates and cutting government spending?

The major tool in the economic toolbox, unfortunately, is also discriminatory, regressive, and punitive, affecting the vulnerable and struggling in society the most. on social services for those most vulnerable. Yet it's the only one economists reach for.

This is not a loaded question. It's a statement of fact. The strategy is to reduce money in the economy and, amongst other things, to increase unemployment to supress inflationary pressure. Undeniably, this affects those with marginal employment prospects first and hardest.

Has no economist theorised any alternative? Surely we should have come up with alternatives to Hayek, Marshall, Friedman, and Keynes in the almost 100 years that have passed?