The Greater Good How Philanthropy Drives the American Economy and Can Save Capitalism

by Gaudiani, Claire , Ph.D.

• ISBN13: 9780805071962
• ISBN10: 0805071962
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-09-10
• Publisher: Times Books

Summary

For over a century, the United States has stood as a beacon of prosperity, innovation, generosity, and opportunity, proof that big business and big dreams can flourish side by side. But, at the turn of the twenty-first century, America faces stagnant growth, industry implosions, job displacement, an ever-widening income gap, oppressive debts, low civic involvement, and insular gated communities. What did we do right for so long, and what can we do to get back on course? In The Greater Good, Claire Gaudiani, one of the nation's leading voices for community development, focuses our attention squarely on the money trail of the American dream. It's not that Americans have been generous because we're rich, she argues; we're rich because we have been generous. Philanthropists invest in people, property, and ideas long before businesses or the government come into the picture, and they play a crucial role in sustaining the fragile balance between capitalism and democracy.

Author Biography

Claire Gaudiani was most recently president of Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut, from 1988 until 2001, and is now a senior research scholar at Yale Law School.

Table of Contents

Introduction: How Philanthropy Saves American Capitalism	p. 1
Democracy, Capitalism, and Generosity: The Fragile Balance	p. 9
Making the Most of People Through Education: Human Capital, Part One	p. 31
Making the Most of People Beyond Education: Human Capital, Part Two	p. 59
Expanding the Built Environment: Physical Capital	p. 75
Advancing New Ideas: Intellectual Capital	p. 107
Generosity and the Future of Democratic Capitalism	p. 134
The Challenge of America's Wealth and the Coming Wealth Transfer	p. 158
The Challenge of Diversity	p. 170
Dangerous Donations	p. 188
Working Solutions	p. 198
A Philanthropic Revolution	p. 219
Notes	p. 243
Bibliography	p. 257
Acknowledgments	p. 271
Index	p. 275
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