Philanthropy & Social Justice

In this episode we take a deep dive into the relationship between philanthropy and social justice. Does philanthropy necessarily deliver social justice; does it only do so under certain conditions, or does it sometimes actively get in the way of social justice? Including:

• Philanthropy as an individual act vs philanthropy as a societal mechanism, and why this creates a tension between emphasis on individual liberty and emphasis on justice.
• How changes in the understanding of property during the Enlightenment changed our understanding of charity.
• The emergence of a radical new notion of social justice and a critique of charity.
• The growth of contrasting ideas about property ownership that led to a new notion of "discriminating charity", and why this became so influential during the C19th.
• The influence of these ideas on Andrew Carnegie's "Gospel of Wealth" and why that was so pivotal.
• Philanthropy as "riot insurance".
• Does justice demand that we replace philanthropy with taxation, or can the two coexist?
• Why are some philanthropist campaigning for higher taxes?
• The history of the philanthropist as "agitator"
• Philanthropy and social movements: recipe for justice, or uneasy bedfellows?
• Radical philanthropy: history and current context.

Related Links:

• WPM article, "In An Ideal World, Would There Be No Philanthropy?"
• WPM article, "Philanthropy and the “Undeserving Poor”"
• WPM article, "MacKenzie Scott & the History of Challenging Philanthropy’s Status Quo"
• WPM article, "Radical Philanthropy: Some thoughts on the recent New Yorker profile of Leah Hunt-Hendrix"
• Darren Walker's recent article on Julius Rosenwald for The Atlantic
• FT, "The new (radical) rich who can’t wait to give away their fortunes"
• Philanthropisms podcasts with Fozia Irfan, Amy Schiller, David Clarke, Elizabeth Barajas-Roman and Emma Saunders-Hastings
• Philanthropisms podcast episodes on tainted donations, pluralism, the philosophy of philanthropy, and gratitude & recognition.