LAUSR

This book aims to deliver a wake-up call to philanthropists, and more critically to the public at large, by bringing attention to the outsized influence and potential perils of elite philanthropy. Giridharadas enters the field of elite philanthropy, observes and interviews insiders, and, refusing to be wooed by its claims of grandeur, offers readers an incisive as well as entertaining critique. While the book relies on an investigative, journalistic approach, it has the feel of a qualitative study, as readers get a glimpse of the inner workings and musings of a host of characters including Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, management academics and consultants, nonprofit heads, and politicians. Elite philanthropy operates, according to the author, on the basis of several self-serving assumptions that are not openly questioned, either by field participants, or–most surprisingly–by the general public. Its usefulness enjoys taken-for-granted acceptance, with US (and presumably international) citizens being grateful to individuals such as Bill Gates for dispensing with part of their fortunes to “save the world”. Giridharadas tries to examine not only the origins but also the validity of such assumptions. He argues that elite-driven, market-friendly, “win-win” philanthropy and the projects it supports–even when they achieve their local goals–can seriously undermine deliberative democracy as a whole.