The Charitable-Industrial Complex

A debate about the role of non-profits was catalysed in the US when Peter Buffet who talked about the ‘charitable-industrial complex’ that maintains and increases economic inequality. As he says ’As more lives and communities are destroyed by the system that creates vast amounts of wealth for the few, the more heroic it sounds to “give back.” It’s what I would call “conscience laundering” — feeling better about accumulating more than any one person could possibly need to live on by sprinkling a little around as an act of charity. But this just keeps the existing structure of inequality in place. The rich sleep better at night, while others get just enough to keep the pot from boiling over.’ I attach his original article together with some of the responses.