four - From philanthropy to philanthropists

Summary

Introduction

Philanthropy refers to practices that aim at the mitigation of (the harmful effects of) social, economic, or political injustice. These practices may be directed either ‘toward assisting long-term social and economic transformations’ or ‘be intended to fulfill the short-term immediate needs for the recipients during a crisis generated by natural disasters, political violence, social strife, or pandemics’ (Banerjee, 2013, p587).

Philanthropy is typically practiced voluntarily, in the sense that it is neither legally prohibited nor legally required. It is left to us to decide for ourselves whether or not to practice philanthropy. There is, however, emerging agreement (amongst political philosophers, at least) that we should be willing to practice philanthropy, at least to some degree. In other words, there is emerging agreement that there is a duty to practice philanthropy. Arguments in defence of this conclusion are standardly justified by reference to the demands of social justice and, in particular, the demands of social justice in a world characterised by global injustice.

It is often assumed that our philanthropic duties are best discharged through charitable giving and, in particular, by making financial donations to charities that are effective at mitigating (the harmful effects of) injustice. This assumption has prompted theoretical inquiries into the following types of questions: why and how much money should we give? To whom and for which purposes should we give? The intimate connection between philanthropy and financial donation is conveniently illustrated by the full title of a recently published book on the subject, Giving well: the ethics of philanthropy (Illingworth, Pogge & Wenar, 2011).

This chapter challenges the alleged intimate relationship between philanthropy and charitable giving. In particular, it is shown that we ought to resist characterising our philanthropic duties in terms of duties to engage in charitable giving. To this end, a more radical claim is established – namely, that our philanthropic duties extend to cover our choice of career as well. That is, in addition to being willing to engage in charitable giving, we ought also to be willing to pursue careers that mitigate (the harmful effects of) injustice.

This chapter begins with a brief summary of the literature on the relationship between social justice and philanthropy. Particular attention is given to arguments developed by Peter Singer (1972, 2010) and Thomas Pogge (2008), which have each been especially influential.