Predatory Pseudo-Philanthropy

The accurate term for the highly manipulative spending which Bill Gates, Eli Broad, and the Walton family are engaging in is “predatory pseudo-philanthropy.” It is the logically evolved and naturally-conceived outcome of the predatory capitalist approach of these billionaire CEOs.

With predatory pseudo-philanthropy, non-profit foundations are set up to operate as vehicles with which the CEOs can acquire control of public institutions. It is these foundations which allow them to maneuver their power, and permit them to exert great influence and take possession of the functioning at the top levels, all under the guise of some sort of "generosity" to chronically under-funded, urban public school systems.

In the realm of public education, the foundations make tremendous “gifts” of money and personnel to school institutions (at local, state, and federal levels). The “giving” is their pathway to control. Foundations admit this goal outright and call it "venture philanthropy." The unsuspecting American public has been fooled into believing these astronomically wealthy individuals are simply being nice and are incapable of doing any wrong. What the American public believes is wrong.

All this reminds me of a friend who was repeatedly sexually abused by her father when she was a girl. As a woman she still could not throw out the beautiful riding saddle he had given her -- even though its presence repulsed her. As a child she had loved riding horses, and his "gift" made it easier for him to get what he wanted from her. Such is the essence of pure manipulation.

John Perkins (“Confessions of an Economic Hit Man”) explains the mindset of these CEO-types and the nature of their predatory capitalism in his new book, “Hoodwinked." Here are some excerpts:

"The guiding philosophy for this particular form of capitalism [the one promoted by Milton Friedman] is an uncompromising belief in the privatization of resources, the granting of unfettered powers to corporate executives, and the encouragement of debt so extreme that it results in contemporary modes of enslavement – for countries and individuals alike.

Based on the assumption that the CEOs running our most powerful corporations constitute a special class of royalty who, unlike normal people, do not need to be governed by regulations, it totally altered geopolitics."

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"We have accepted the cancer, the predatory mutant virus of capitalism, as the norm."

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"It is a system that evolved through the subterfuge and economic cunning of people who freely move back and forth between corporations and the U.S. government (collectively, the corporatocracy)."

On the model’s policies and techniques:

"…the abandonment of laws that force corporations to adhere to strict environmental, social, truth-in-advertising, and other standards that protect the rights of the general populace; assumption of larger amounts of personal, corporate, and governmental debt; privatization of utilities, prisons, and other “public” institutions; increased police surveillance under the guise of “homeland security”; and the use of public lands to serve corporate interests."

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"Members of the corporatocracy are a, “… club of CEO powerbrokers of business and finance who dine with the like of senators, members of congress, regulators, and presidents [and others]."

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"The ruling elites—the members of the corporatocracy, “… are not chosen by the people, do not serve limited terms, and answer to no one…They wield tremendous influence in the halls of both local and national governments. Almost no politician gets elected without money that flows through them and their stockholders. They control the mainstream media, either through direct ownership or advertising budgets."

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Lobbyists are “one of the most effective political weapons in the corporatocracy’s arsenal. These men and women make sure that politicians draft laws that support corporate needs, even then those laws countermand campaign promises and disregard pubic opinion.”

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"Communications networks work in tandem with the lobbyists. Corporatocracy dominance of the mainstream media has grown steadily, paralleling the rise of Friedman capitalism. In 1983, fifty corporations controlled that vast majority of all news media in the United States. By 1992, that had been reduced to less than thirty. In 2004, only six huge corporations … owned most of the industry…In both their news reporting and their editorials, they promote “free trade” agreements, privatization, and the other polices that have led to the current crises."

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"Members of the corporatocracy are not part of a conspiracy, but they are characterized by an obsession with winning. They will invest vast amounts of money to get their way."

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"We often justify the unscrupulous actions of the modern robber barons because they contribute money to philanthropy and the arts."

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"... the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been severely criticized for investing its endowment in companies that are accused of contributing to poverty in the very Third World countries where that foundation’s stated goal is to relieve poverty.”

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"As a young founder and CEO, Gates had a reputation for brutally beating down competitors. He and Microsoft have been attacked in many countries for business practices that at best are morally questionable and at worst illegal."

Read more about the corporatocracy's takeover of urban public education:

• Power Hoarding Billionaire Buddies
• Under Seige
• Gates-Induced Wariness
• The Scheming Called "Venture Philanthropy"
• Is it Fiction, or Not? Not.
• Our Omnipotent's Dream