Pennies From Heaven

Robin Hanson reads the obituary of Alex Gross - founder of Rite Aid and noted philanthropist - and feels a bit sad Lost Charity

When we look back on people in the past and what they did that we are thankful for, creating innovative products, processes, and organizations should come out near the top; that is mainly what made us rich. And on that count Alex Grass is a hero.

But when folks like Alex spend their later years trying to “do good” with the millions they were paid for actually doing good, they usually end up pissing it away. We already have too much medicine and academia, because such things are mainly wasteful signals. We didn’t need and shouldn’t be thankful for more hospital wings or lecture halls. Imagine how much more good could have been done instead via millions spent trying to make more innovative products or organizations.

I don't know if I completely agree with this grumpy assessment. I don't think the world has enough libraries, for example. I would agree that there are too many University Chairs for the Study of Useless Progressive Ideals That Are the Default Position of the Professoriate. However, I don't think I would want to discourage Chairs for the study of conservatism, free markets, etc., such as the one Robert Novack tried to set up at the University of Illinois. Really, what this comes down to is: people don't think rationally when they engage in industrial scale philanthropy. They act based completely on sentiment and scale. There is a belief out there that "true" philanthropy requries the creation of complex solutions and the expenditure of vast sums on "world-class" staff. This isn't Gross' fault.

The real moral inversion comes in the social attitudes towards wealth creators like Alex Gross. The jobs and efficiencies of scale he created resulted in social boons in tax receipts and lower prices that are to be admired. Instead, they are denigrated or ignored when they are noticed at all. In their public lives, men like Gross are admired for doing "good" only when they are dispensing "no strings attached" dollars to socially approved recipients. Innovation and utility play only a small role in such an environment.