Episode 61 - Owning Change

In an age of global disparity and inequity, billionaire philanthropists (dead and alive) are stepping up to the plate with powerful foundations and acts of charitable giving to solve some of the world's greatest challenges. But how much faith should we place in the hands of individuals with concentrated wealth and power? And if we take a step back to examine the broader system in which these individual philanthrocapitalists function, do we find any contradictions between wealth doled out and the process of accumulating it? Further, despite some of the good that we perceive directly stemming from philanthropic efforts, what are some of the hidden motivations behind these efforts that ultimately seek to deepen the same structures that produced the problems in the first place which philanthropy purports to solve?

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Chapters

04:44 The Man Who Wrote the Gospel
40:44 Philanthropy and Celebrity
48:11 The Larger System
54:12 Just How Rich?
1:03:04 "How philanthropy shapes foreign policy, civil rights, and healthcare"
1:20:20 Taxes and Giving
1:30:36 What Can We Do?

Sources

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@misc{Phil Dickens_2010, title={Charity, mutual aid, and class struggle}, url={https://propertyistheft.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/charity-mutual-aid-and-class-struggle/}, journal={Property is Theft!}, author={Phil Dickens}, year={2010}, month={Aug} }
@misc{Piereson_Riley_2019, title={A Battle Over a Capitalist’s Legacy}, url={https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-battle-over-a-capitalists-legacy-11548890716}, journal={Wall Street Journal}, author={Piereson, James and Riley, Naomi Schaefer}, year={2019}, month={Jan} }
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Shock Doctrine source can be found in Chapter 4 on Argentinia and Chile

Credits

Special thanks to Michael Verrenkamp for research and Millie for inspiration.

Published 14-02-2019 01:05

Episode 61 - Owning Change

Chapters

Recommended Reading and Listening

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Sources

Credits