Go to any philanthropy conference today and one of the keynote speakers is likely to be the author of a book about “the elite charade of changing the world” (Giridharadas, 2019), “why philanthropy is failing democracy” (Reich, 2018), or the need to “decolonize” and “heal” (Villanueva, 2018) a philanthropic sector gone awry.

The same conversation is happening even outside philanthropy’s circles. Historian Rutger Bregman made headlines for bitterly dismissing the “stupid philanthropy schemes” of the rich at Davos (Ho, 2019), and the public questioned the legitimacy of donor priorities after donations poured in to repair fire-damaged Notre Dame Cathedral (Sullivan, 2019). Mainstream media outlets criticize billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg or Michael Dell when they argue against a wealth tax by defending how much good they can do with their wealth through large-scale philanthropy (Aronoff, 2019; Roberts, 2019).

Some (though definitely not all) of these critiques go beyond arguments on the effectiveness of philanthropic practice. They question whether philanthropy even has a legitimate place in democratic societies, and they challenge the considerable power wielded by big philanthropists. Some critics don’t just say “fix it” but rather, “throw it out.”

Sharp, fundamental, even scathing critique of philanthropy is certainly not new. As Rob Reich (2018) points out, French economist Anne Robert Turgot railed in the mid-1700s against donor-directed, perpetual foundations using arguments that are remarkably similar to the ones we hear now. When Andrew Carnegie and other Gilded Age philanthropists announced their philanthropic plans, they were met with deep suspicion — in the same way George Soros and many other big donors are today.

Organized philanthropy, done well, can have a dramatic and even inclusive impact in communities. It can embrace our highest ideals of democratic decision-making and community-shaped responses to collective challenges. But to reach this aspiration, we have to have meaningful, open, informed conversations about what we want the role of philanthropy to be, and what philanthropy “at its best” looks like (National Center for Responsive Philanthropy, 2009).

As this trend toward increasing critique of philanthropy continues, we would hope not for less critique, but for better critique.

Read the full article about critiquing big philanthropy by Michael Moody and Tory Martin at the Johnson Center.