Giving Thought

 In episode 42 we chat to Krystian Seibert, an Industry Fellow at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. We discuss the current wave of critiques of philanthropy, why criticism is important, how to make that criticism constructive and what the response from policy and lawmakers should be. Including: How do we criticise ‘well’? Is some criticism in danger of ‘preaching to the converted’? To what extent does personal philosophy or ideology dictate how receptive you are to certain criticisms? Which criticism of philanthropy is hardest to answer? How much do the current US-focussed critiques resonate elsewhere (e.g. the UK or Australia)? Is there an argument to change how philanthropy is regulated by the state? How do we balance the freedom to make individual philanthropic choices with the responsibility to ensure philanthropy doesn’t create greater inequality? In the US the focus has been on the potential for philanthropy to subvert democracy by offering a means of influence outside the ele