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Philosophy Talk: The Philanthropy Trap

What happens when philanthropy by the wealthy becomes a substitute for democratically-accountable government action?

Many of us generally admire people who donate large sums of money to charity. Yet people donate for all sorts of reasons – some selfless, some not so much. Should we consider philanthropy as mere ego expression for the wealthy, or is it genuinely altruistic behavior? If philanthropists are so concerned with having an impact on society, how should we think about "measuring" this impact? Are there better ways than philanthropy to achieve positive social change? John and Ken donate their time to Bruce Sievers from the Center for Philanthropy and Civil Society at Stanford University. 

Sunday 2/24 at 11 am and Tuesday 2/26 at 12 noon.

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