Post Capitalist Philanthropy: a radical rethinking of giving in the age of collapse
Activists and philanthropy advisors Alnoor Ladha and Lynn Murphy ask the question that most people working in the sector prefer to avoid: can philanthropy ever be a genuine force for transformation when it is itself a product of the system it seeks to change?
Post Capitalist Philanthropy: Healing Wealth in the Time of Collapse is one of the most provocative and talked-about books in philanthropy circles in recent years. Published in October 2022 by Daraja Press in partnership with the Transition Resource Circle, it has found a wide readership among foundation professionals, NGO leaders, and activists grappling with the limits and contradictions of conventional philanthropic practice.
The book’s starting point is uncomfortable: philanthropy, the authors argue, is an externalisation of capitalism, both a consequence of the system and a mechanism for protecting it. A small group of people accumulate large sums of wealth through an extractive system and then create a sector through which they can set the agenda for civil society, while receiving tax breaks, lobbying influence, and social legitimacy that further concentrate their power. The sector encompasses the full political spectrum from conservative to progressive, and from passive (funding research) to active (funding direct action), but regardless of motivation, the authors contend, it remains embedded in and shaped by the logic of capital.
100 interviews
Rather than offering a simple critique, Ladha and Murphy draw on over a hundred interviews with activists, philanthropists, philosophers, social scientists, and what they call “wisdom keepers” to map out what they term “ontological shifts”, changes not just in how we redistribute wealth, but in how we perceive and embody our relationship with the world. The book moves from the history of wealth accumulation and neoliberalism through a dissection of philanthrocapitalism, and on towards what the authors call “life-centric models”: emerging alternatives rooted in gift economies, solidarity, and relational ways of organising.
No simple answers
The book does not pretend to have simple answers. Its questions are designed to unsettle: Would any desirable post-capitalist future still include a sector called philanthropy? Would an elite few still have the power to decide the civic agenda of others? And why would anyone invested in the current system be interested in creating post-capitalist realities, especially if that means having a smaller share of the pie?
For UK fundraisers and charity leaders, this book is likely to be challenging reading, deliberately so. But it raises questions about power, accountability, and the purpose of philanthropic giving that are directly relevant to anyone working at the intersection of money and social change, and it is increasingly cited in discussions about trust-based philanthropy, participatory grantmaking, and decolonising development practice.
About Alnoor Ladha and Lynn Murphy
Alnoor Ladha is an activist, journalist, and political strategist. From 2012 to 2019 he was co-founder and executive director of the global activist collective The Rules, and holds an MSc in Philosophy and Public Policy from the London School of Economics.
Lynn Murphy is a strategic advisor for foundations and NGOs working in the global South. A former senior fellow and programme officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, she holds a PhD in international comparative education from Stanford University and resigned from mainstream philanthropy as, in her own words, a “conscientious objector” to neocolonial giving. Both are co-directors of the Transition Resource Circle.
Reviews
“This book asks a daring question: can wealth be reappropriated to restore balance to our broken world? A key resource for anyone eager to rethink philanthropy and economics in the 21st century.”
Jason Hickel, Visiting Senior Fellow, London School of Economics; author of The Divide and Less is More
“In Post Capitalist Philanthropy, Ladha and Murphy walk us through the deep logics of neoliberalism, the foundations of globalisation and the ideology of corporate free trade… the authors dissect philanthrocapitalism, and they indicate the possibilities of reclaiming the true economies of the gift, of solidarity, of caring and sharing.”
Dr Vandana Shiva, environmental activist and food sovereignty advocate
The book is available to purchase from Blackwell’s and Amazon.co.uk.
A free PDF of the book is available to download from the Transition Resource Circle website.
Further information about the book, including a webinar series with the authors, is at postcapitalistphilanthropy.org.
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