What's Love Got To Do With It?

by David Wagner

Overview

A groundbreaking critique of American charity which Barbara Ehrenreich says "demolishes the conventional wisdom that private philanthropy is innately superior to public welfare measures." What's Love Got to Do with It? is an insightful debunking of the way charitable giving disguises American neglect of the public welfare. Award-winning Professor of Social Work and Sociology David Wagner points out that while the United States prides itself on being one of the most generous nations, it provides its citizens with the lowest public benefits of any Western society and has rates of poverty and inequality among the highest in the industrialized world. These two facts, Wagner argues, are not unrelated: independent philanthropy actually provides a cover for the harshness of America's free-market capitalism. In a book that Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States, says "raises sobering questions for all of us who want to live in a just society," Wagner offers a provocative contribution to our thinking on philanthropy and social welfare.

Author Biography: David Wagner's previous books include the award-winning Checkerboard Square and The New Temperance. He is a professor of social work and sociology at the University of Southern Maine.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781565846371
Publisher:	New Press, The
Publication date:	09/01/2001
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	0.47(w) x 6.00(h) x 9.00(d)

Table of Contents

AcknowledgmentsPreface
Introduction: Charity as an American "Glorifying Myth"
Part One—American Altruism and Repressive Benevolence
Charity, Philanthropy, and the Indian: Overlooked Aspects of Genocide
Charity and the Poor: "Not Alms, but a Friend"
Part Two—The Surprising Success of Charity as Symbolism
The Symbolic Appeal of Christian Charity
Philanthropy: For he Greater Glory of the Rich
The Sanctified Sector: The "Nonprofit"
Incorporating the Critics: Clients, Social Movements, and the "Contract State"
Moving beyond Clichés
Notes
Index

Editorial Reviews

With charities' influence growing, the time is right to raise red flags—and Wagner's are largely on target.

Baltimore Sun

This book will do more to end poverty than any number of contributions to elite charities.

Barbara Ehrenreich

A stinging critique that exposes the dark side of private benevolence in America.

Frances Fox Piven

A concise and vivid chronicle of the rise of paternalistic American charity. —Salon.com

Frank Browning

Clear, lively...wonderfully readable.

Howard Zinn

[T]renchant—and sure to be controversial... deconstructs some of America's most venerated icons.

Michael B. Katz