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Philanthropy, Power, and Democracy

Philanthropy is often hailed as a civic response to excessive inequalities. Private aid flows play a major role in North-South relations, and with the 鈥淕iving Pledge鈥�, billionaires promise to give back to society. Can there be genuine and effective altruism? Critics warn that philanthropy is an exercise of power that may undermine democracy, as public policy is being replaced by private initiatives.

This spring, the Center for Critical Democracy Studies is inviting two leading scholars to discuss the relationship between philanthropy, power, and democracy:

• from the Justitia Amplificata Centre for Advanced Studies at听Goethe-Universit盲t Frankfurt, whose Ph.D. dissertation at Princeton had focused on 鈥淒onors鈥� Democracy: Private Philanthropy and Political Morality鈥�, will talk about 鈥淔amine, Affluence, and Democracy: The Politics of Effective Altruism鈥� on听25 February 2019, 18h30 in C-102
• , director of the Center for Ethics in Society and faculty co-director of the听Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society at Stanford University, whose new book is fresh off the press, will discuss it with us 鈥淛ust Giving: Why Philanthropy is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better鈥� 3听April 2019, 17h30 in C-104 (co-sponsored by the Civic Media Lab). Find out more.

The events are open to the public - external guests must notify their attendance at least 24h before via email to phaegelaup.edu.

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鈥淔amine, Affluence, and Democracy: The Politics of Effective Altruism鈥�

Peter Singer鈥檚 seminal 1972 鈥淔amine, Affluence, and Morality鈥� is widely credited with inspiring effective altruism, a听powerful new paradigm in the ethics of philanthropy. Effective听altruism presses听the relatively affluent not only to give generously, but also to subject their听practical deliberations to rigorous evaluations of听impartiality and听cost-effectiveness. The most common objection to this approach is that it operates with an excessively demanding view of morality: taking the advice of effective altruism seriously would impose unreasonable limitations on agents鈥� own life plans and personal relationships. I argue, however, that a more serious problem lies in how effective altruism understands politics. Foreign assistance projects that score highly on measures of cost-effectiveness may nevertheless prove counterproductive in the long run, as they undermine the institutional reforms necessary for lifting societies out of poverty. And because of the structural inequalities between donors and recipients, these projects also risk subjecting their intended beneficiaries to objectionable exercises of power. Though I offer some alternative suggestions for assisting the global poor that partially overcome these challenges, I caution against the impulse to reduce the complexities of our duties to distant strangers into simple formulas. 听

About the speaker

Dr. Theodore Lechterman ( /听) is a postdoctoral听fellow at Justitia Amplificata, a Centre for Advanced Studies in political theory at听Goethe-Universit盲t Frankfurt. His听research principally concerns how democratic听ideals apply to economic practices, and his work has appeared (or is forthcoming) in听Polity, the听Journal of听Practical Ethics, and听Raisons听Politiques, as well as in numerous popular outlets. From 2016 to 2018, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University鈥檚听McCoy Center for Ethics in Society. He holds a Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton and an A.B. in听Government from Harvard.

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