The plutocratic drift of philanthropy in the US
______
Podcast "Philanthropy in question(s)" - Episode 33
The plutocratic drift of philanthropy in the United States - Rob Reich
To what extent does North American philanthropy really benefit the strangers, i.e. the people donors don't know?
In this 33rd episode, Arthur Gautier, chaired professor in Philanthropy at ESSEC Business School, presents a 2013 article by Rob Reich called “Philanthropy and caring for the needs of strangers”.
Rob Reich offers an important analysis of the current and desirable role of philanthropy in democratic societies. He asks a fundamental question of moral and political philosophy: how can we justify tax incentives for philanthropy if philanthropy does not primarily serve the needs of the less fortunate?
Using the data we have on current philanthropic practice in the USA, the American professor approaches this question as a philosopher, looking at the criteria that define what is right.
The main ideas of the article:
In this episode, Arthur Gautier presents three key ideas of Rob Reich's article:
Contrary to common belief, American citizens are not the most generous in the world
The U.S. system of tax incentives for giving is unfair
The “subsidy rationale” that justifies the status quo in terms of tax incentives is problematic.
➡️ Listen to the episode above to learn more!
Other resources on the topic
🔹 Seo, H., Luo, J., & Kaul, A. 2021. Giving a little to many or a lot to a few? The returns to variety in corporate philanthropy. Strategic Management Journal, 42(9): 1734–1764.
🔹 Luo, J., & Kaul, A. 2019. Private action in public interest: The comparative governance of social issues. Strategic Management Journal, 40(4): 476–502.
🔹 Kaul, A., & Luo, J. 2018. An economic case for CSR: The comparative efficiency of for-profit firms in meeting consumer demand for social goods. Strategic Management Journal, 39(6): 1650–1677.
🔹 “TotalEnergies, un mécène qui fait de plus en plus tache dans le monde de l’art”, Télérama, 26 mai 2023.
🔹 “Greenwashing, comment les géants pétroliers ont changé de stratégie”, YouMatter, 19 janvier 2023.
🔹 “How Mobil pushed its oil agenda through 'charitable giving'”, The Guardian, 12 juin 2019.
🔹 Horvath, A., & Powell, W. W. (2016). Contributory or Disruptive: Do New Forms of Philanthropy Erode Democracy? In R. Reich, C. Cordelli, & L. Bernholz (Eds.), Philanthropy in Democratic Societies: History, Institutions, Values (pp. 87–122). University of Chicago Press.
🔹 Reich, R. (2016). Repugnant to the Whole Idea of Democracy? On the Role of Foundations in Democratic Societies. PS: Political Science & Politics, 49(03), 466–472.
🔹 Reich, R. (2018). Just Giving: Why Philanthropy Is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better. Princeton University Press.
🔹 Sloterdijk, P. (2012). Repenser l’impôt. Buchet Chastel.
🔹 "Taxation and Philanthropy", OECD Report, 26 novembre 2020.
Other episodes with related themes
Fundraising in times of crisis (John Godfrey, Alexandra Williamson)
Climate philanthropy (Edouard Morena)
Symbolic capital and coporate philanthropy (Yuliya Shymko, Thomas Roulet, Bernardo de Melo Pimentel)
Climate crisis and inequalities (Anne Monier)
Corporate philanthropy and major events (Andras Tilcsik, Christopher Marquis)
Sincerity in corporate philanthropy (Ilya Cuypers, Ping-Sheng Koh, Heli Wang)
Conservative foundations and climate skepticism (Natalie Rauscher)
Philanthropy and democracy (Sylvain A. Lefèvre, Anne Monier)
Getting the rich and powerful to give (Judd Kessler, Katherine Milkman, Yiwei Zhang)
Donor plaques: traces of generosity (Anne Monier)
People vs Stones: what the Notre-Dame fire tells about philanthropy (Amy Schiller, with adding comments by Anne Monier)
Listen to all episodes of our podcast "Philanthropy in Question(s)"
Every last Wednesday of the month, in an episode of about 10 minutes, we share the discoveries of a researcher on philanthropy in France or internationally, all disciplines included. The goal? To give research a place in everyday life, to contribute to critical thinking and to shed light on societal issues through the prism of philanthropy. Dive with us into the heart of research on giving!
Also to be discovered: "Towards Strategic Philanthropy"
Based on interviews with philanthropists and professionals in the philanthropy sector, this podcast from the ESSEC Philanthropy Chair introduces you to the 5 key dimensions of philanthropy strategy: value, logical framework, style, time horizon and vehicle. The embodiment of the learnings from the book Towards Strategic Philanthropy published by Peter Frumkin, Anne-Claire Pache and Arthur Gautier at Odile Jacob in 2020. To your headphones!
Find our podcast "Philanthropy in question(s)" on your favorite listening platform:
