August’19 Books

Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World,
by Anand Giridharadas
Knopf; First Edition, First Printing edition (August 28, 2018) 304 Pages
The New York Times bestselling, groundbreaking investigation of how the global elite’s efforts to “change the world” preserve the status quo and obscure their role in causing the problems they later seek to solve. An essential read for understanding some of the egregious abuses of power that dominate today’s news. More

Just Giving: Why Philanthropy Is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better,
by Rob Reich
Princeton University Press (November 20, 2018) 256 Pages
Is philanthropy, by its very nature, a threat to today’s democracy? Though we may laud wealthy individuals who give away their money for society’s benefit, Just Giving shows how such generosity not only isn’t the unassailable good we think it to be but might also undermine democratic values and set back aspirations of justice. Big philanthropy is often an exercise of power, the conversion of private assets into public influence. And it is a form of power that is largely unaccountable, often perpetual, and lavishly tax-advantaged. More