New Philanthropy and Social Justice: Debating the Conceptual and Policy Discourse

Abstract

Philanthropy and Social Justice: Debating Conceptual and Policy Discourse. Edited by Behrooz Morvaridi. Bristol, UK: Policy Press at University of Bristol / Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015, 176 pp. ISBN: 1447316983Behrooz Morvaridi's edited volume, Philanthropy and Social Justice: Debating Conceptual and Policy Discourse, is a valuable addition to Policy Press' book series Contemporary Issues in Social Policy: Challenges for Change. By addressing issues associated with social justice and today's philanthropy-the increasing involvement in of corporations and foundations started by wealthy individuals- Morvaridi's edited volume provides invaluable critical and philosophical grounding to debates on philanthropy, contributing meaningful dialogue regarding challenges and potential of for social transformation. The book is a critical look at new as part of neoliberal strategy to fill in for state responsibility as social expenditure wanes, critiquing notion that capitalists are better than traditional actors at doing work. The essential argument of essays that make up book is that migration of business principles into non-profit sector, via claims that what works for market will work for social justice, is fundamentally flawed and inimical to goals of meaningful social change.Consisting of eleven essays, Morvaridi's volume is divided into three thematic sections. Part One, New Philanthropy and Social Transformation, includes four essays that set up historical and philosophical framework for debate. Hugh Cunningham's piece argues that the welfare states of Europe in second half of 20th Century were price capitalism paid for political survival and that philanthropy is price that now needs to be paid to justify neoliberalism (p. 38). This provides an illuminating perspective as it highlights paradox of as a necessary by-product of neoliberalism, casting capitalism as both cause and cure. The results of this paradox, as Michael Edward writes in book's second essay, is that philanthropy is losing whatever transformational potential it possessed (p. 33) as its definitions of public good are appropriated by private interests (p. 39). Philanthropy conducted via mechanisms of capitalism, these introductory essays collectively argue, are wrong tools to address social injustices, which are their by-product. Indeed, as Tom Parr emphasizes in Part One's final essay, our moral obligation to injustice is only to mitigate its harmful effects, but to tackle its underlying causes (p. 68).Part Two, Philanthrocapitalism and Process of Commodification, consists of two chapters and takes a practical view of market mechanisms' impact on specific issues. For example, George Holmes strongly questions place of markets in providing or managing public goods. In particular, he questions whether or not some things, like biodiversity, should ever be commodified, while pointing out that others, like social justice issues, simply are not commodifiable, making them incompatible with a capitalist system based on commodities. The inseparability of so-called philanthropic 'giving' and capitalistic accumulations that is associated with philanthrocapitalism has, Sally Brooks argues, detrimentally steered debate away from socioeconomic concerns and towards technical ones, while recasting aid recipient as a consumer (p. 102). The long-term outcome of this paradigm shift towards philanthrocapitalism, Brooks argues, is, in end, unlikely to be win-win. This section of volume provides keen insights into practical incompatibilities of capitalism with and is extremely valuable to debate. The section, however, would have been strengthened by addition of another article to further develop implications for today. …