Giving: Philanthropy & Democracy in the Modern United States
Olivier Zunz
Department of History
The history of philanthropy is currently understood only in fragmentary ways. There are specialized studies but many gaps and no synthetic guide. The work of noted historians of philanthropy such as Merle Curti, Scott Cutlip, David Hammack, Stanley N. Katz, and Kathleen McCarthy, to name only a few, is indispensable but does not provide the creative synthesis that I propose. The only book that has attempted a synthesis is Robert Bremner's American Philanthropy, published in 1960 (augmented in 1988). Much has happened and much has been learned since that time. A new synthesis is warranted, not simply to take the story to the present but to deepen our conceptualization of the encounter between giving and democratic practice. My ambition for this project is large: not only to provide a framework in which the various components of the philanthropic system can be fitted but to integrate the history of philanthropy into American history.
In brief, my argument is that modem philanthropy is much more than a corrective for the imbalances of capitalism, an alternative to the mechanisms of the market and progressive taxation as a vehicle for redistributing wealth. As practiced in the United States, it has become a critical means for enlarging democracy and for engaging a broad portion of the citizenry in ideas and decision making. I am therefore exploring the effort, on the part of Americans from various walks of life (from the very wealthy to those who contribute to modest door-to-door collections), to generate large monetary resources and apply them to a broad array of endeavors. The resulting American philanthropic and nonprofit institutions have not only been highly visible actors in education, science,
social services, the environment, and the arts, they have also generated knowledge critical to American well-being and shaped public policy. In effect, the modern philanthropic enterprise, supported by a large portion of the population, has become a powerful engine of civil governance.
More information at www.virginia.edu
Project Sponsored By: Ford Foundation
Start Date: 6/1/2004
- End Date: 1/31/2007
|
RSS Feed