No Such Thing as a Free Gift: The Gates Foundation and the Price of Philanthropy Kindle Edition

No Such Things as a Free Gift is a brilliant and balanced indictment of "Big Philanthropy" and of the "Scientism" and technocratic conservatism of The Gates Foundation. The book is a panoramic view of so-called philanthropy that has had a variety of nefarious (and predictable) effects on education, healthcare, disease management, and other areas and yet is lauded as incredible generosity and right-minded work of the highest caliber. McGoey cites enormous amounts of evidence and combines it with a harrowing critique of the philosophy espoused in the world of "giving."

This book must be read. The power of Big Money and Big Foundations/Big Philanthropy is incredible and what is at stake is the quality of human life. The complexities of poverty, inequity, and disease far outweigh those of running corporations no matter how big and successful.

Using the Gates Foundation as an example, this paints a strong picture of the power of philanthropy, its winners and losers, and the results, intended or unintended.

It's an interesting read, even though the scope of the critique does not exceed colonial terms.

VERY GOOD

One of the immutable rules of the universe is that nothing ever turns out the way it first seems. So with philanthropies, according to Linsey McGoey in No Such Thing As A Free Gift. The super-rich are out to benefit themselves and their companies, blaming government for failing to address issues, while criticizing them for spending anything on those issues (and not giving them and their firms enough breaks). McGoey uses the whipping boy of The Gates Foundation, which has its own agenda, and outspends governments and in some instances the UN. Its influence is enormous, but its strategy leaves the field cold. Bill Gates’ “obsession” with polio has meant poor attention given to more immediate needs, such as HIV. Some call this obsession the biggest obstacle to lower priced HIV treatment in the world: “The Gates Foundation just leaves chaos. Not only is it changing the ideology of public health – it is deinstitutionalizing public health.” The same feelings are expressed in education, where Gates has run rampant and unchecked.

The charges against Gates boil down to a spoiled brat spending to please himself. Programs and purchases are made to benefit Microsoft and Coca-Cola, which the foundation stands to inherit from board member Warren Buffet. Its grants are made to US firms, three times more often than to local ones, on the ground where the need is both better understood and immediate. Much like government aid that must be used to purchase US goods and be shipped by US transport, The Gates Foundation benefits Americans more than Africans or Asians.

McGoey says Gates follows the footsteps of Andrew Carnegie, the great philanthropist who famously had Pinkertons shoot his employees for striking. He cut their already miserable wages by two thirds, at a time when his company enjoyed a tripling of revenues, all so he could continue to perform his munificent philanthropy. He built libraries, in his own name, all over the country. Today, all kinds of new billionaires take up highly targeted pet causes, with little regard for overall impact, goals or co-ordination, in exchange for massive tax relief. This steals from government revenues while enriching favored suppliers, cronies and politicians. We call this efficiency, and the rich congratulate themselves over it at conferences like Davos. In their minds, they are performing far better than government could. Meanwhile, education and healthcare workers strive to undo the mess they create and leave behind when they get restless.

The book reaches out in many directions, following the money in long tangents. The focus on Gates is valid, but in many ways unfair. The whole sector operates this way. For example, nearly a third of funders are invitation-only; new programs need not apply. Philanthropy is no less corrupt than transnational corporations, politicians or the dictators they support, which is hardly comforting. It makes No Such Thing As A Free Gift both revealing and uncomfortable. If our charities are this misleading, what is left?

David Wineberg

McGoey goes into significant detail to demonstrate the ins and outs of large foundations and their positive and negative effects. While concentrating often on the Gates Foundation, she explores the history of foundations and how they have evolved to be influential players in many areas of domestic and international aid, politics, business and stature. Throughout the book, the author seems to be seeking the answer to the question of whether foundations mostly benefit the poor or the providers and their own agendas and stature. The answers seem to create a mixed bag of results and perceptions. There are no doubts that those behind the large foundations wield considerable power and influence that can be used for good and bad, altruistic and self-serving purposes.

McGoey really zeroes in on some particular areas of aid such as health provisions and agricultural help internationally to see the intricacies of how the lines between altruism and self-serving promotion are not so easily determined. She also explores the backgrounds of how some of the larger foundations came to exist -- for example through less than ethical business practices. The book paints a picture of the enormous wealth of the wealthiest 1% and how foundations serve their own purposes. Again, the focus is largely on Bill Gates and his story of amassing a fortune and giving away a lesser but significant fortune.

In the end, readers will have a better understanding of the role foundations play and will be able to make a more educated analysis of how they fit into our economy and social system. I think what we learn is what the author quotes from one of the opportunists she discusses, "Generosity can be very profitable." The book highlights how the wealthy use foundations to protect huge slush funds of wealth to be used beneficially according to their definition of beneficial.