Philanthropy won’t save us. Here’s why.

BY MYLES KIM AND CALVIN ZHOU

Every year, countless stories praise billionaires’ selflessness for their philanthropic donations. Yet, bad actors use philanthropy more as a public relations device and a way to avoid paying taxes. Philanthropy is a necessary institution that helps supplement a government’s role in protecting its citizens’ welfare. However, the largest donors often are more preoccupied with protecting their business interests than helping others. Charity should be benevolent, but powerful corporations and the wealthy have made it deceitful.

Modern American philanthropy has its roots in the Gilded Age, tied most often with the prominent works of Andrew Carnegie, an industrialist notorious for his anti-labor stance and practices. Although Carnegie is praised as a beacon of good philanthropy, the exploitation of industrial workers through which he garnered his wealth ultimately perpetuated poverty and outweighed his philanthropic acts. He was under the impression that the economic system allowing him to accumulate so much wealth was inherently good and that every American would inevitably get their piece of the pie.

“One can look at Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth and argue that in some ways it was very paternalistic,” said Bruce Sievers, Lecturer at the Stanford University Haas Center for Public Service. “There is some language in there where he says that the wealthy not only deserve to reap the benefits of what they have created, but they know how best to give it away to society for the greatest benefit.”

Similarly, the robber barons of the 21st century, such as Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk, often pledge to donate shares of their companies to charity while simultaneously being accused of mistreating their workers and preventing unionization efforts.

Sometimes these charitable donations aren’t even charity at all. In 2015, Zuckerberg made headlines when he claimed that he would donate the majority of his fortune to charity; in reality, he donated to a limited liability company he owned entirely, with the intention to invest in for-profit businesses.

In many instances involving today’s ultrabillionaires, philanthropy has been used as a vessel for financial gain, whether directly or indirectly.

“Whatever money you take from the rich will not have that much of an impact because they have greater access and means of recuperating their wealth,” English teacher Andrew Seike said. “It takes money to make money.”

Aside from philanthropy, billionaires are known to make large donations to political organizations. In the 2022 midterm election cycle, he gave $40 million to fund Democratic and Republican campaigns. Wealth has not only become a powerful playing card in the American financial system but also has been used to increasingly influence public policy in a corporation or billionaire’s favor.

“As philanthropic gifts become larger, there is a risk that donors may try to influence what happens through organizations,” said Gene Tempel, Professor of Philanthropic

Studies at Indiana University. “It is unethical for a donor to try to remake society in his or her image.”

Carnegie’s views persist in acts of philanthropy today and raise the question of how democratic American philanthropy really is. Before the 2008 recession, about twice as many people made philanthropic gifts or volunteered as the number of people who voted each year. As fewer people donated, philanthropy became undemocratically concentrated among extremely wealthy individuals. The wealthy have a monopoly on goodwill, only willing to give it away to causes they think are the most beneficial for recipients, which often aren’t effective. Philanthropy is defined as goodwill to fellow humans. As such, philanthropy should be about helping others, yet modern philanthropy seems to be more preoccupied with dodging taxes and cleaning up images. Something that would alleviate the power of big donors and their ability to mold society as they see fit, is broader participation in philanthropic acts that make it significantly harder for big donors to make gifts that are contradictory to what society actually wants to achieve through philanthropy.

“People need to recognize that philanthropy is a commitment to making the world a better place,” said Richard Marker, Faculty Co-Director at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy. “It is not something only for people with a lot of money, but for everyone.”

Patriotism in America has contributed toward anti-immigrant, xenophobic, or racist attitudes.

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Strongly Disagree aving flags with scent of hotdogs a dazzling display a celebration of a nation’s and unity take center stage. is one holiday where Americans patriotism, a cherished sentiment of the U.S.. In recent years, patriotism that binds the become murky as dissenting have claimed this word for communities apart as they interpretations of patriotism.

According to Oxford Languages, is defined as the devotion support for one’s country. Without patriotism, a country can seem its own ideals. Thus, countries patriotic actions among their turmoil, present a unified front new policies. blurred when patriotism have interpreted unwavering country without actions or However, this aligns with extreme belief

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