Albert Ruesga on social justice philanthropy, staged at Hudson Institute. In other news, the Koch brothers prep their team of hyperagents for "the mother of all wars." Social justice philanthropy to me means leveling the playing field so that the Koch brothers dig holes in the dirt with a shovel, for low wages, and I am Unelected King of World. Whether philanthropy can achieve this, or whether it will take other means, is an open question. There is something sad about asking the rich for fairness. Please! And they say, No, we are already very fair. We worked hard for our money. And we say, Thank you for listening. Something is only a proven injustice is the Supreme Court says it is, and they may want to ask the Kochs first. Or maybe they have. When concentrated money corrupts all three branches of government, Justice becomes the "bitch that must to kennel," to quote Lear's Fool. Justice as Due Process has run its course. Now, as the Romans said, under their tyrants, "The law is hard, but it is the law." As for the people, they cry, "Give us, Barabas!" The theory of social justice stems from, say, faith traditions and, say, John Rawls. The practice of social justice philanthropy? Very sparse. It would require that an enlightened class of wealthy persons work for the good of the whole, on behalf of a community worth passing to their heirs. A few will. Chuck Collins in one. I have pre-ordered his forthcoming book, 99 to 1: How Wealth Inequality Is Wrecking the World and What We Can Do about It.
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