Ben Soskis - Learning from the history of philanthropy

In episode 28, Rhod is joined by Ben Soskis, a Fellow at the Urban Institute and editor of HistPhil.org, for a wide-ranging (and quite long!) chat about the history of philanthropy and what it can teach us about the big challenges facing charities and donors today. They talked about all sorts of things, such as:

-Why is studying the history of philanthropy worthwhile, and what are the limitations of historical comparison?

-What are the most telling criticisms of philanthropy that have been seen through the ages?

-Which supposedly “new” developments in philanthropy actually have historical precedents? What, if anything, is genuinely new?

-Is philanthropy anti-democratic? Can that sometimes be a good thing?

-Why have power dynamics always been such a challenge for philanthropy, and what efforts have been taken to overcome this challenge?

-What are the biggest challenges facing philanthropy in the US right now?

 

Related content:

histphil.org George Soros and the Demonization of Philanthropy (An article by Ben for The Atlantic) The Importance of Criticizing Philanthropy (An article by Ben for The Atlantic) New Realities for Philanthropy in the Trump Era (An article by Ben for the Chronicle of Philanthropy) Dirty Money: From Rockefeller to Koch (An article by Ben for The Atlantic) The History of the “Giving While Living” Ethic (Report by Ben, commissioned by Atlantic Philanthropies) Philanthropy: Anti-democratic and proud of it? (Rhod) Philanthropy and Inequality: Part of the solution or part of the problem? (Rhod) Public Good by Private Means: How Philanthropy Shapes Britain (Rhod’s book)