Definition
In this entry, we define philanthropy as all forms of individual and institutional giving. We take politics to cover the institutions and practices of government. Both philanthropy and politics seek to allocate value in society. Politics does so through the exercise of authority, while philanthropy does so through voluntary action.
Introduction
Philanthropy and politics share an aspiration to create public value. They rarely work seamlessly together toward common goals, however. Instead, they often contest and compete with each other’s ideas and agendas. Philanthropy sometimes cancels out or counters public spending, sometimes it supplements it, and other times it operates in areas that politics has chosen to avoid entirely (Boris and Steuerle 2006). What these two domains share in common is the challenge of defining public priorities and needs, and then imagining ways to intervene. One major difference is that politics is shaped and checked by voter opinion, and thus...
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Frumkin, P., Zuhlke, S. (2022). Philanthropy and Politics. In: List, R.A., Anheier, H.K., Toepler, S. (eds) International Encyclopedia of Civil Society. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99675-2_9546-1
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