Ungiven: Philanthropy as critique

Father, Son, Wife, Husband: Philanthropy as Exchange and Balance

This essay attempts to use exchange and balance theories to explain philanthropy. For exchange, such theoretical components as attractions or rewards, costs, barriers and alternatives are invoked to make sense of the biography of a Chinese philanthropist in Hong Kong who donated two schools to remember his father and wife. The balance theory was also used, which argues that people do not seek t...

Famine & Philanthropy

The leading Chinese-language newspaper in late nineteenth-century China, the Shanghai-based Shenbao, began in 1877 and 1878 to cover on an almost daily basis the famine engulfing North China. The news that millions of people were starving to death in the drought-stricken northern provinces shocked Chinese reformers and gentry philanthropists living in Shanghai and other parts of the Jiangnan re...

Health Related Philanthropy:

Philanthropy and Collective Sharing

Today I will present my thoughts on philanthropy as collective sharing. I will first examine the nature of philanthropy, and its relationship with the concept of ownership. In society, philanthropy is born together with private property. There is no need for philanthropy under a system of full public ownership. According to Marxist and Socialist theory, philanthropy is unnecessary and irrelevan...

Physicians as Fundraisers: Medical Philanthropy and the Doctor-Patient Relationship

American medical institutions commonly solicit donations from wealthy individuals who receive care [1,2]. Physicians are often encouraged to assist in these programs because their existing relationships afford them insights into each patient’s clinical history, personality, and financial situation; experience has shown that physician involvement can increase the frequency and size of donations ...