Sally’s Book Review
The Greater Good --how philanthropy drives the American economy and can save capitalism
by Claire Gaudiani
Ever since hearing Paul Brooks describe our American culture by referencing a three legged stool, I have been intrigued by that concept.
The three legs that support the stool are the private sector, the public sector and the not-for-profit sector.
Our society is held up by these three supports unlike other European societies that are propped up by their private and public sectors only.
Often in those other countries, the universities, museums and hospitals are government run.
Not since hearing Brooks’ description have I come across someone who could elucidate this concept as well as Claire Gaudiani.
I first heard her speak last spring shortly after her book was published and her speech was inspiring.
Reading her book has only increased my regard for her and her work.
She has, in a very scholarly way, brought together the interdependence of capitalism and philanthropy,
not only from a historical perspective but also with a futuristic message.
America’s liberty and its hope for the future have created the fertile soil for citizen generosity to flourish. Like capitalism, philanthropy has produced prosperity. We wouldn’t be the country we are today with out either of them. Claire sees generosity serving as an economic engine to complement capitalism. “Our right to happiness is exemplified in our entrepreneurial spirit. We are generous because we are rich; we are rich because we are generous.” Because Americans are free to be philanthropically entrepreneurial, our human intellectual and physical capital has benefited. Citizen generosity creates and sustains new ideas, new inventions, and new initiatives long before government even catches on. Philanthropy provides a dynamic engine beyond markets and government. Volunteers and wealthy patrons work for the greater good. Not only the Rockefellers and Carnegies have helped but also everyday citizens. For example, the March of Dimes, have made a difference for… the greater good.
Claire posits that philanthropy has and continues to act, as a governor on the potential negative effects of run away capitalism. “Citizen generosity works as a mitigator to soften capitalism’s more destructive features; cutthroat competition and wealth concentration. Generosity expands toward those who have not been favored in the game of life and seeing their potential as an asset to them and to the rest of us, it offers them a chance to play and win.” I italicized the word potential because it is mainly in America that we value potential. It is our hope for the future that encourages benefactors to fund someone else’s child’s education, in the name of… the greater good.
Generosity helps to distribute wealth rather than concentrate wealth and opportunities in society. Contrast that with “when public goods such as museums and hospitals are the result only of government spending, not of philanthropic investments by fellow citizens, people learn to wait for some thing good to happen rather than helping to make it happen. If ideas are doomed to falter unless they attract government funding or create a profit, many people will stop trying to innovate.”
Gaudiani spends time on the impact of generosity on investing in people’s physical well being; their health, homes, nutrition, security, as well as their minds; their education, scholarship, training and mentoring. As early as 1643, Harvard was offering its first scholarships. Post civil war, citizen generosity was funding women’s Exchanges for soldiers’ widows. Settlement Houses were founded at the start of the twentieth century to improve the lives of immigrants. Studies of urban conditions, funded by individuals, helped to start the whole social work movement and profession. The WPA was modeled after these aforementioned movements to help relieve the economic hardship of the great depression.
Donations of physical capital have also played a major role in American philanthropy. Carnegie’s libraries, Julius Rosenwald’s (founder of Sears, Roebuck) YMCAs for African Americans throughout the south, and Chicago’s museums are a few examples of donated physical properties. As a matter of fact, Chicago’s five major league teams combined do not bring as much revenue to the city as do the nine philanthropically supported museums.
In closing, Gaudiani’s urgency is to teach readers about philanthropy’s role in our American culture from our past as well as in a warning that “we have stopped nurturing and building our giving habits at just the wrong time.” More citizen generosity could help to energize our economy which she sees is exactly what is needed.
“It’s somewhat difficult to argue that life in the United States is really good at the same time that I’m arguing for improving it, but that’s exactly the position in which I find myself. I want to say that the U.S. system works pretty well, but that the system includes a very important mechanism- philanthropy- that we must acknowledge as crucial and that we must continue to encourage. And we must do it right away. The earliest signs of significant increases in the size of the gap between haves and have nots appear in the 2000 census data. The new data is alarming. The United States may be on the verge of losing the fragile balance that citizen generosity has maintained with the forces of capitalism. This balance has enabled America to make dramatic economic progress in an atmosphere of relative social order and little class conflict. Taking the past for granted may spell real doom for our future. Citizen generosity matters. Without it, cynicism and class conflict could pervade and change the very parts of America’s spirit that make us successful. Social trends are shifting the ground from under us in ways that could be devastating. The handwriting is already on the wall. With out determination we could find that the spirit of generosity that has made us so great has been forgotten.”
The Greater Good pp.27-28
Sally’s Bookshelf
Browse Sally’s personal bookshelf of recommended reading with synopses and links for online purchase.
Articles & Information
Articles by Renata J. Rafferty, a leading advocate for informed philanthropy, and other informative snippets and reprints.
Family Retreat
A 2-day retreat to settle family issues and clarify wishes, goals, values, and beliefs in a quiet setting.
Samples of a Family Letter of Intent.
Case Studies
Disinheriting the IRS: How the Mastersons built a legacy of voluntary philanthropy instead of involuntary estate taxation.