Opinion: ‘Philanthrocapitalism’ Is No Substitute for Charity

Efforts that promote buying items from for-profit companies as a way to fight poverty, hunger, and disease threaten to subsume genuine philanthropy in consumerism, according to an opinion piece in The Atlantic.

“Consumptive outlets for our philanthropic impulses are more pervasive than ever,” Amy Schiller writes, citing Feed tote bags, Product (Red), and other high-profile examples of commercial merchandise explicitly linked to social missions. She argues that such efforts make buying things the engine of benevolence, undermining the human basis of charity.

“Philanthropy should imply a categorically different relationship with money than the one we have as consumers: something we embark on because we want to participate in a larger goal of improving the world and linking our values, histories, and resources with the needs of other people,” Ms. Schiller says.