The Problem with Charity and Philanthropy

The rich love charity because imagining the appreciation of the poor makes them feel good. The rich love philanthropy even more because imagining the admiration of their peers makes them feel even better. They know as well as you and I do that neither charity nor philanthropy can stop the growth of the wealth gap.

What the rich won’t admit is that charity and philanthropy are not supposed to end poverty. The educated rich know the only things that have ever shrunk the wealth gap in the US were Keynesian social programs—which may be why neoliberals began…