HistPhil (2026)

29/07/2026

New HistPhil post: Genevieve Shaker and William Plater on the largely forgotten but prescient 1974 essay by the science polymath (and one-time head of the Wenner-Gren Foundation), Heinz von Foerster, on the "cybernetics of philanthropy."

Based in a 2024 article published in the journal Philanthropia, Shaker and Plater explore how von Foerster's ideas anticipated the current vogue for "systems thinking" in philanthropy, and outline how one major philanthropic foundation briefly considered incorporating those ideas into its own grantmaking.

As cybernetics forms part of the conceptual underpinnings artificial intelligence, likely to reshape philanthropy in manifold ways in the years to come, it is worth exploring the other powerful intellectual influences of cybernetics, many of which will be called upon to address that transformation.

"Many philanthropic practices that have become familiar and well-understood owe a notional debt to cybernetics," Shaker and Plater write, "including strategic philanthropy, systems-change philanthropy, effective altruism, trust-based philanthropy, participatory philanthropy, and reflexive philanthropy, each of which draws on shared concepts such as iterative learning, adaptive adjustment, acknowledgement of donor bias, and inclusive decision-making." Intimations of many of these ideas and movements can be discerned in von Foerster's essay.

Editors’ Note: Genevieve Shaker and William Plater shine a light on a forgotten 1974 essay by the “polymath scientist” Heinz von Foerster on the cybernetics of philanthropy, explo…

17/07/2026

New HistPhil post: Based on a recent article in Economy & Society, Inderjeet Parmar directs a Gramscian analysis to the contemporary Hewlett Foundation, identifying it as a paradigmatic “liberal crisis machine” – "an elite institution that diagnoses threats to U.S. democracy and hegemony but, in practice, moderates radical change, co-opts dissent, and ultimately shores up the corporate-liberal order that fuels the very crises it claims to combat."

"The implications," writes Parmar, "are stark. By embedding itself in corporate structures and extending dollar laden olive branches to Trump-aligned forces, the HF exemplifies why liberal establishments repeatedly falter against far-right challenges. Their strategies sustain the underlying conditions (inequality, corporate dominance, hollowed-out democracy) that empower authoritarian populism, even as they fund 'resistance.'"

Editors’ Note: In this post, Inderjeet Parmar summarizes a journal article he wrote on the Hewlett Foundation, as part of a special section on “The Pathologies of Philanthropy,” edited …

13/07/2026

New HistPhil post: John Tyler and Brian Baird on the vast and varied associational commitments of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin is the exemplar, but he's certainly not alone.

It's an important reminder amongst celebrations of the nation's 250th anniversary how deeply embedded assocationalism was among many of its leading citizens.

Editors’ Note: John Tyler and Brian Baird discuss their research on the varied associational commitments of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and what that suggests about the im…

06/07/2026

New HistPhil post: Among the hopeful developments over the last year has been the emergence of a trans-ideological coalition of individuals willing to take public stands in defense of civil society. I’ve been studying that coalition, trying to better understand the commitments and ideas on which is rests.

Amongst the conservatives in the coalition, one of the strongest of these is what I call “prudential pluralism.” It is an approach to the defense of civil society grounded in the sense that, even if one’s own allies are not currently under threat, in the future, they may be, given that one attack can license or precipitate another. For the right, this often is phrased as something like: you might be applauding what President Trump is doing now, but you might not like it when President Ocasio-Cortez is in charge.

I became fascinated by this line of thinking, and particularly by the delicate historical equilibrium on which it rests, one in which past grievances are close at hand and at the ready to be balanced against those of one’s ideological, partisan, or sectarian antagonists. This in turn led to a presumption of parity, in which all grievances are granted equal weight, and all threats to civil society are assumed to be equally grave. In other words, though prudential pluralism offered some of the strongest grounds for defending civil society, it often led to bad history. (Take, for example, the place of the 2013 IRS scandal in right-wing memory).

In this essay, the first part of which you can read here (with the full essay in the comments…warning, it’s long), I go back to the JFK White House to trace deeper precedents for the current moment, to identify a history that might provide a firmer foundation for prudential pluralism. It’s one that locates a shared vulnerability among all nonprofits and an endemic temptation built into the structures of political authority in the U.S, but that still maintains fidelity to the historical record.

Please do give it a read...I've broken it up into two parts (it's long), the second half which I'll publish later in the week, but as I said above, you can also read the full essay, with a link below.

Part 1: https://histphil.org/2026/07/06/prudential-pluralism-historical-perspective-and-the-defense-of-civil-society-part-1/

Full Essay: https://histphil.org/2026/07/06/prudential-pluralism-historical-perspective-and-the-defense-of-civil-society-full-essay/

Oops! That page can’t be found. It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try one of the links below or a search? Search Recent Posts Prudential Pluralism, Historical Perspective, and the Defense of Civil Society (Part 1) Prudential Pluralism, Historical Perspective, and the Defense...

29/06/2026

New HistPhil post: There has been a lot of attention--and for good reason--on the threats to civil society coming from federal policy, regulations, and executive actions.

But as Beth Gazley and Jennifer Alexander write, based on their recent article in Nonprofit Policy Forum, "While authoritarian activities are increasing at the federal level, U.S. states are the primary source of regulatory authority over charitable organizations." And so it is especially important to shine a spotlight on "the efforts of U.S. states to restrict civic space through statutory and executive authority."

Gazley and Alexander have done exactly this, summarizing their research on state-action broadly considered, as well as offering a case study on Texas in particular.

As they write, "These new restrictions on U.S. civil society result from a unique confluence of circumstances in the US: the emergence of states as the nerve center of national policy mingled with their longstanding legal authority to define terms of political participation for both nonprofits and individuals. Our central finding is that patterns of nonprofit suppression by authoritarian governments outside the U.S. conform with the current U.S. experience, at the state level."

Editors’ Note: Beth Gazley and Jennifer Alexander use an authoritarian framework to explain recent state government actions intended to restrict nonprofit activity in the US. This piece is based on…

04/06/2026

New HistPhil post: Adapted from his recently published biography, "Nathan Fisher: From Macy’s Magnate to International Humanitarian," Andrew Fisher shines a light on a somewhat forgotten philanthropic titan from the turn of the last century, the man who brought us affordable pasteurized milk; an early paragon of "giving while living" and adopter of "social ventures" during economic crisis; a promoter of public health in New York City; and outspoken defender of Jewish life and unifying force in American Zionism.

The fact that he did his giving without an endowed foundation to outlast him or draw the subsequent attention of scholars means that he has been somewhat neglected in the study of American philanthropy. But Fisher argues that at a time when the public-private foundation for science-based public health is cracking, Straus' legacy is worth rediscovery and reanimating, more than ever.

Editors’ Note: Andrew Fisher shines light on a lesser-known philanthropic titan of the turn of the last century, Nathan Straus. This post is adapted from the prologue of Fisher’s recent…

09/03/2026

New HistPhil post: The Clinton Global Initiative has been in the news lately, with reporting from the Epstein files of the role that Ghislane Maxwell played in its inception. Besides for that, we tend to hear about the Clinton's philanthropic activities largely when they are the subjects of right-wing attacks.

David Callahan thinks they deserve much more attention--and respect. In this review of Bill Clinton's 2024 memoir of his life after the White House, "Citizen," he argues that we've badly underestimated the contributions Clinton has made to philanthropy.

"Through the Clinton Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), and other activities — including donating millions of dollars of his own money — Clinton has compiled a record of philanthropic impact since leaving office in 2000 that is unmatched by any former president and far more extensive than most people realize."

What would it mean to place Clinton, with his unparalleled ability to leverage the soft power of his celebrity and networks, within the pantheon of major 21st century philanthropists? Callahan takes this question on.

Editors’ Note: David Callahan reviews Bill Clinton’s memoir, Citizen: My Life After the White House (Knopf, 2024). When Jimmy Carter died in late 2024 at 100, many accolades focused on …

17/02/2026

New HistPhil post: Deepak Bhargava reviews John Witt's The Radical Fund, finding in the history of the Garland Fund, which blazed a trail from the 1920s to the 40s in supporting movements for economic and racial justice, lessons for today's progressive, radical, and movement-oriented funders.

"It has become commonplace for today’s liberals and progressives to bemoan the greater strategic coherence of conservative philanthropy," Bhargava writes. "But perhaps liberal donors don’t have to copy conservatives, as many have tried to do. Witt’s research offers another lineage to draw on."

An exemplary reading of philanthropic history to answer the call of the present moment.

Editors’ Note: Deepak Bhargava continues HistPhil’s book forum on John Witt’s The Radical Fund. Is it possible for foundations to do more than ameliorate the bad effects of system…

12/02/2026

In 2018, Maggie Lemos and Guy-Uriel Charles published a law review article on the phenomenon of 'patriotic philanthropy,' "a practice in which very rich individuals donate large sums of money to fund public programs or public institutions." They laid out both its attractions and some of the objections that could be raised to it, along lines of democratic critique. Most of the examples the focused on were on the state and local level, where they assumed patriotic philanthropy would find most purchase, because of governmental resource constraints.

Now, they reconsider patriotic philanthropy in light of the fact that it has increasingly been embraced by President Trump, often through solicited donations, its personalism and transationalism aligning with his governing style.
They find additional democratic threats within the practice, underscoring the relationship between patriotic philanthropy, the imperial presidency, and the hollowing out of and loss of faith in state capacity.

Ultimately, they write: "Patriotic philanthropy appears virtuous and civic minded. But by masking fiscal limitations and substituting private largesse for public commitment, private financing risks hollowing out the very capacities that democratic government depends upon. Perhaps more concerningly, if and as patriotic philanthropy becomes a ubiquitous practice, it opens the possibility that government officials will routinely solicit donations from the private sector. What will emerge is a smaller and more fragile state—superficially robust but substantively weak, and ever more responsive to those with the resources to underwrite it. Solicited donations are worrisome not only because of the distinctive separation-of-powers concerns they raise when the executive is the solicitor, but also because they create a tension with a constitutional order built on collective governance, mutual accountability, and equal citizenship."

Editors’ Note: Maggie Lemos and Guy-Uriel Charles revisit their 2018 California Law Review article on ‘patriotic philanthropy’ in the light of Trump 2.0. In 2018 we published an a…

13/01/2026

New HistPhil post: Jeffrey M. Berry, James M. Glaser, and Deborah J. Schildkraut detail the findings on the relationship between political ideology and charitable giving from their recent book, Everyday Democracy: Liberals, Conservatives, and Their Routine Political Lives.

They asked a random sample of 1,000 Americans an entire battery of questions on "the ordinary behaviors of citizens that we believe are at the foundation of a healthy democratic society," including charitable giving and volunteering. They framed their analysis through the prism of ideology, comparing those identifying as conservative with those saying they are liberal.

What they found: although conservatives and liberals have different giving patterns, neither identification as a liberal nor as a conservative is linked to the likelihood of donating. Age, household income, and church attendance are the variables most strongly related to donating to charity. More than political ideology, "a broad and interrelated political world view," they determine that "personal values, representative of an internal compass," lie at the root of the motivation to support nonprofits.

Editors’ Note: Jeffrey M. Berry, James M. Glaser, and Deborah J. Schildkraut outline the findings on the relationship between political ideology and charitable giving from their recent book, …

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