Giving Compass' Take:

• Rob Reich, author of  Just Giving: Why Philanthropy is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better, discusses his book about challenging the ethics of philanthropy and explains why we should adopt more scrutiny towards foundations. 

• How can foundations and influential philanthropists address critiques of foundations? How can philanthropists leverage what they know about systems change work to inequality and inspire others in the sector to address root causes? 

• Read more about Rob Reich's thoughts on philanthropy and democracy. 

On Tuesday, political science professor Rob Reich held a launch event for his new book, “Just Giving: Why Philanthropy is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better.”

The book centers on what Reich sees as the hidden negative impacts of philanthropy, offering solutions to the problem and suggesting ways in which philanthropy can be redeemed. “I want to examine the ethical and political dimensions of philanthropy [and] in particular how the act of giving is not the unassailable or automatic good thing that we often think it to be,” Reich said.

The event began with a keynote speech by Reich and was followed by a panel with two speakers: Stanford Law professor Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar and incoming President and CEO of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation Nicole Taylor.

“I want to examine the ethical and political dimensions of philanthropy [and] in particular how the act of giving is not the unassailable or automatic good thing that we often think it to be,” Reich said.“The appropriate attitude to power is not to thank people for wielding it but to scrutinize people to see whether it supports, rather than undermines, our democratic ideals,” he said.

“If you took away one message from the book, it’s the idea that both scholars and citizens need to pay far greater attention to the phenomenon of philanthropy in American society and in democratic society in general, and that philanthropy deserves our scrutiny, not just our gratitude,” he said.

Read the full article about democracy and philanthropy by Clara Kieschnick at Stanford Daily