Peter Buffett: Big Philanthropy and Philanthro-Feudalism

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http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/laura-flanders/52952/peter-buffett-big-philanthropy-and-philanthro-feudalism

Peter Buffett: Big Philanthropy and Philanthro-Feudalism
by Laura Flanders | December 2, 2013 - 9:28am

Dollars that are donated to stop hunger, curb the spread of HIV/AIDS or teach young girls to read and write are often praised, especially by those who are doing the donating. But the reality is that the billions of dollars - $316 billion in 2012 - which are given away by large nonprofit, philanthropic organizations are doing very little to change the long-term structural issues that affect the people on the receiving end of the well-intentioned funds.

In a recent article in Dissent Magazine journalist Joanne Barkan writes that philanthropic organizations were set up legally and financially to last forever. GRITtv guest Peter Buffett, musician, philanthropist and son of Warren Buffett, says that foundations should be trying to put themselves out of business, especially foundations that address the social ills of a society.

“You certainly don’t get up in the morning and say, how can I lose my job? And that’s what you should be doing.” Buffett says.

In an article written for The New York Times titled “The Charitable Industrial Complex” Buffett explains the situation this way: “As more lives and communities are destroyed by the system that creates vast amounts of wealth for the few, the more heroic it sounds to “give back.” It’s what I would call “conscience laundering” — feeling better about accumulating more than any one person could possibly need to live on by sprinkling a little around as an act of charity.”