Carnegie Corp. Reviews Callahan’s The Givers
They Mean Well, by Adrienne Faraci
David Callahan, author of The Givers: Wealth, Power, and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age, sees the uniquely American tradition of philanthropy as a problem of our own making. “What we have here is another complicated story about philanthropy and influence in a new Gilded Age,” he writes. “It’s hard not to be inspired by the vision and achievements of many donors — and equally hard not to be troubled by the bigger picture of more power shifting into private hands.”
The founder and editor of Inside Philanthropy, a digital media site covering the world of giving, Callahan points out marked parallels between the past and present eras of opulence, such as an emerging class of politically connected and vastly rich individuals, declining government resources, and growing income inequality. Through philanthropy, the new gilded class, emulating earlier capitalists, is attempting to step into the breach of fiscal scarcity and help move the needle on some of society’s seemingly intractable problems. Like Andrew Carnegie, the father of modern philanthropy, many of these affluent individuals are moved to act on a moral obligation to support innovations that will make life better for humankind. Sometimes ferocious and sometimes scientific in their tactics, today’s philanthropists have the risk capital and the networks to influence policy on issues ranging from education reform to environmental remediation.
Twenty-first-century billionaires differ from earlier elites in that there are many more of them, and they are giving away much of their wealth (well, some of them) and pushing for change at breakneck speed. What will this mean for society as a whole? In light of declining government influence and an increasing gap in income equality, how will this new breed of ideological philanthropists affect civil society? Who can ensure that the people will have a say in how resources are allocated and how policies are changed? Callahan’s book issues a warning to those interested in the field of philanthropy or who are looking to enter it. He offers a tempering look at all that philanthropy promises as well as recommendations for checking the influence of unbridled giving...