The Philanthropic Revolution

An Alternative History of American Charity

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Philanthropy & Charity, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Political, Political Science
Cover of the book The Philanthropic Revolution by Jeremy Beer, University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jeremy Beer ISBN: 9780812292473
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc. Publication: May 22, 2015
Imprint: University of Pennsylvania Press Language: English
Author: Jeremy Beer
ISBN: 9780812292473
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
Publication: May 22, 2015
Imprint: University of Pennsylvania Press
Language: English

When we talk about voluntary giving today, we usually prefer the word philanthropy to charity. Why has this terminological shift taken place? What is its philosophical significance? How did philanthropy come to acquire so much prestige—and charity come to seem so old-fashioned? Was this change contested? Does it matter?

In The Philanthropic Revolution, Jeremy Beer argues that the historical displacement of charity by philanthropy represents a radical transformation of voluntary giving into a practice primarily intended to bring about social change. The consequences of this shift have included secularization, centralization, the bureaucratization of personal relations, and the devaluing of locality and place.

Beer shows how the rise of "scientific charity" and the "new philanthropy" was neither wholly unchallenged nor entirely positive. He exposes the way modern philanthropy's roots are entangled with fear and loathing of the poor, anti-Catholic prejudice, militarism, messianic dreams, and the ideology of progress. And he reveals how a rejection of traditional charity has sometimes led philanthropy's proponents to champion objectionable social experiments, from the involuntary separation of thousands of children from their parents to the forced sterilizations of the eugenics movement.

Beer's alternative history discloses that charity is uniquely associated with personalist goods that philanthropy largely excludes. Insofar as we value those goods, he concludes, we must look to inject the logic of charity into voluntary giving through the practice of a modified form of giving he calls "philanthrolocalism."

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

When we talk about voluntary giving today, we usually prefer the word philanthropy to charity. Why has this terminological shift taken place? What is its philosophical significance? How did philanthropy come to acquire so much prestige—and charity come to seem so old-fashioned? Was this change contested? Does it matter?

In The Philanthropic Revolution, Jeremy Beer argues that the historical displacement of charity by philanthropy represents a radical transformation of voluntary giving into a practice primarily intended to bring about social change. The consequences of this shift have included secularization, centralization, the bureaucratization of personal relations, and the devaluing of locality and place.

Beer shows how the rise of "scientific charity" and the "new philanthropy" was neither wholly unchallenged nor entirely positive. He exposes the way modern philanthropy's roots are entangled with fear and loathing of the poor, anti-Catholic prejudice, militarism, messianic dreams, and the ideology of progress. And he reveals how a rejection of traditional charity has sometimes led philanthropy's proponents to champion objectionable social experiments, from the involuntary separation of thousands of children from their parents to the forced sterilizations of the eugenics movement.

Beer's alternative history discloses that charity is uniquely associated with personalist goods that philanthropy largely excludes. Insofar as we value those goods, he concludes, we must look to inject the logic of charity into voluntary giving through the practice of a modified form of giving he calls "philanthrolocalism."

More books from University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.

Cover of the book The Performance of Self by Jeremy Beer
Cover of the book Translating Buddhist Medicine in Medieval China by Jeremy Beer
Cover of the book Medieval Robots by Jeremy Beer
Cover of the book The International Struggle for New Human Rights by Jeremy Beer
Cover of the book Envisioning an English Empire by Jeremy Beer
Cover of the book The Color Revolutions by Jeremy Beer
Cover of the book The War on Welfare by Jeremy Beer
Cover of the book First City by Jeremy Beer
Cover of the book Backwoods Utopias by Jeremy Beer
Cover of the book Islamic Gardens and Landscapes by Jeremy Beer
Cover of the book The Barons' Crusade by Jeremy Beer
Cover of the book Eve's Journey by Jeremy Beer
Cover of the book Forging Rights in a New Democracy by Jeremy Beer
Cover of the book History Matters by Jeremy Beer
Cover of the book Miracles and Extraordinary Experience in Northern Kenya by Jeremy Beer
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy