Democratic Faith
  • Home
    • Wins
    • Leaders
    • Organizers
    • Cutting Edge
    • Gold Standard
    • Faith >
      • Under Siege
      • Money
    • Newsmakers Archives
  • Craft
  • Blog
    • DF Journal >
      • Just Art
      • What Now?
  • Contact
  • Notes On Organizing

REALITY BLOG

Foundationland, LaLaLand

1/1/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Foundationland and all the pandering and program altering bs that gets piled up there is only the tip of the funding iceberg.  It’s a given that nothing approaching the truth ever happens in this territory.  

These days more important is the newly minted money elites coupled with rich heirs whose wealth has been compounding for years into a gigantic bolus.  Whether from gaming, technology, pornography, extraction, entertainment, finance, health care – it doesn’t matter.  Here lies the ground of the new philanthropy that is an iteration of the old philanthropy in a new key.

Relative to his times, lucky smart ruthless Bill Gates parallels lucky smart ruthless John D Rockefeller.  Rockefeller rode the engine of oil to the financial stratosphere.  Gates rode the engine of software engineering to the same place.  Both believed their ventures were gifts to humanity and both believed business practices they embraced if duly replicated in philanthropic enterprise would make the world a still better place.  Both fought hard to create monopolies, or failing that, cartels in their commercial activities.  Both fought hard to advance monopolistic dynamics in their philanthropic activities.  Both succeeded by purloining the best work of others.  Both self-presented as self made and were acclaimed as such by an adoring media. Both dismissed the importance of fostering democratic practices in their philanthropic offspring.  Both held unions in contempt.   Both did everything in their power to kill off any worker sentiment flowing in the direction of organized political power. 


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Frank C. Pierson, Jr.

    Frank Pierson retired after forty years of work with the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) as a professional organizer. He began his career in 1971 in Chicago, moved to Queens, New York City and migrated west to work in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado.  He resides with his wife, Mary Ellen Kazda, in Oracle, Arizona.  He may be reached at alinskynow@gmail.com

    Picture

    Archives

    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    January 2016
    August 2015
    May 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

    Categories

    All
    AFL-CIO
    Baltimore
    Baton Rouge
    Border Crossers
    Charles Koch
    CIR
    Communities Organized For Public Service
    Community Change
    Consequences
    COPS
    Democrat Disarray
    Demographics And CIR
    Dreamers
    Executive Action
    Funders
    Harry Reid
    Hayek
    IAF
    Immigration
    Immigration Reform
    Industrial Areas Foundation
    Inevitable CIR
    Julian Castro
    Liberty
    Local Organizing
    Luis Gutierrez
    Metro Alliance
    NDLON
    Patronage
    Political Money
    Progressive Foundations
    Progressive Funders
    Punt On Immigration
    Richard Trumka
    San Antonio
    Saul Alinsky
    Von Mises
    Wall Street Journal

    RSS Feed

HOME |  CRAFT | BLOG | DF JOURNAL | CONTACT | NOTES ON ORGANIZING

WINS / LEADERS /ORGANIZERS / CUTTING EDGE / GOLD STANDARD / FAITH / SEIGE / MONEY / JUST ART / WHAT NOW?
NEWS ARCHIVES​ 
Picture
Subscribe to the Pierson Letter
Alinsky Now
DF Companion Website
© Copyright 2013-2018 Democratic Faith/Alinsky Now | All rights reserved.
✕