Brazil elections 2022: a critical moment for elite Brazilian philanthropy

The Brazilian election is an opportunity for local philanthropy to show its support for a more just and equitable future for the country. But will elite philanthropists rise to the challenge? In recent years, this elite has done little to challenge Brazil’s structural inequalities, Jessica Sklair (Queen Mary University of London) found

Introduction: ethnographic engagements with global elites

Anthropological interest in critical studies of class, system and inequality has recently been revitalized. Most ethnographers have done this from “below, while studies of financial, political and other professional elites have tended to avoid the language of class, capital and inequality. This themed section draws together ethnographies of family wealth transfers, philanthropy, and private-sector development, to reflect upon the place of critique in the anthropology of elites. While disciplinary norms and ethics usually promote deferral to our research participants, the uncritical translation of these norms “upwards” to studies of elites raises concerns. We argue for a critical approach that does not seek political purity, nor attempt to “get the goods” on elites, but which makes explicit the politics involved in doing ethnography with elites

Eleições Brasil 2022: momento crítico para a filantropia da elite brasileira

As eleições no Brasil são uma oportunidade para quem faz filantropia no país mostrar apoio a um futuro mais justo e com mais equidade. Mas os filantropos da elite estão à altura desse desafio? Nos últimos anos, essa elite fez pouco no sentido de contestar as desigualdades estruturais do Brasil, concluiu Jessica Sklair (Queen Mary University of London)

Philanthrocapitalism as wealth management strategy: Philanthropy, inheritance and succession planning among the global elite

In the resurgence of interest in inheritance flows following the publication of Piketty’s work, little attention has been paid to the affective practices that ensure the success of inheritance processes as wealth moves down generations of dynastic families. This article explores these practices, drawing on research among wealth managers, philanthropy advisors, family offices and their clients, to show how philanthropy is promoted by advisors to the wealthy as a tool to support inheritance and family business succession planning. In this process, advisors draw on the philanthropic imagination to style wealthy families as custodians of both private capital and the common good, thus mirroring the narratives used by philanthrocapitalists to legitimise their wealth in the public sphere. Here, however, the discourse of philanthrocapitalism is turned inwards to the private realm of the family, to persuade younger generations to rally around the collective project of the custodianship of wealth. By bringing together research on philanthropy and inheritance, this article contributes to the growing sociological literature on elites and the global inequalities driven by their accumulation of wealth. It shows how wealth accumulation is increasingly dependent not only on the mechanics of financial markets and inheritance flows, but also on affective wealth management strategies framed around ethical notions of kinship and social responsibility.Parts of the research on which this article is based were kindly funded by the Royal Anthropological Institute (Sklair, Emslie Horniman Fund/Sutasoma Award 2008) and the ESRC (Sklair, Postdoctoral Fellowship 2018-2019

Philanthropy in Brazil and the UK: Wealth, Responsibility and the Pursuit of Social Change by Economic Elites

This thesis explores the philanthropy of economic elites in Brazil and the UK, positing their practice as part of a global elite philanthropic project. It argues that this project serves to further the aims of global capitalism, while attempting to mitigate the negative effects of capitalism’s fallout. Although the historical development of elite philanthropy in Brazil and the UK has been markedly different, accounting for technical differences in contemporary practice in these countries, recent decades have seen attempts to build an institutionalised philanthropic sector in Brazil based on British (and American) models. Today, the conceptual and ideological framework for the design of philanthropy in both countries is remarkably similar. In ethnographic enquiry into this common project, practices under the banners of ‘philanthrocapitalism’ and ‘strategic philanthropy’ emerge as the expression of deeply held ideologies of social change. These relate to the transposition of corporate strategies to philanthropy, to market-based solutions to social problems, and to attempts to eradicate poverty via better incorporation of the poor into existing economic structures. This enquiry, however, reveals how other aspects of elite experience also become entangled in the philanthropic project. In Brazil and the UK, elites use philanthropy to forge positive identities of wealth, and as a tool for managing inheritance. Among Brazilian family businesses, historical family narratives of philanthropy and corporate social responsibility aid business succession processes, in attempts to keep family firms – and family capital – intact with the passing of time. Finally, this thesis explores the work of philanthropic intermediaries, and the central role played by philanthropy advising and donor education programmes in shaping and disseminating philanthropic trends. Ethnography among intermediaries, however, reveals myriad ambiguities in their work. These serve to highlight elite philanthropy’s inability to confront the structures of inequality inherent to global capitalism, and the corresponding limits to its own project

Outsourcing the business of development : the rise of for-profit consultancies in the UK Aid Sector

Funding: Economic and Social Research Council - ES/V01269X/1.While much attention has been paid to the ways in which the private sector is now embedded within the field of development, one group of actors — for-profit development consultancies and contractors, or service providers — has received relatively little attention. This article analyses the growing role of for-profit consultancies and contractors in British aid delivery, which has been driven by two key trends: first, the outsourcing of managerial, audit and knowledge-management functions as part of efforts to bring private sector approaches and skills into public spending on aid; and second, the reconfiguration of aid spending towards markets and the private sector, and away from locally embedded, state-focused aid programming. The authors argue that both trends were launched under New Labour in the early 2000s, and super-charged under successive Conservative governments. The resulting entanglement means that the policies and practices of the UK government's aid agencies, and the interests and forms of for-profit service providers, are increasingly mutually constitutive. Amongst other implications, this shift acts to displace traditional forms of contestation and accountability of aid delivery.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Giving as ‘De-Risking’: Philanthropy, Impact Investment and the Pandemic Response

This article examines the role played by philanthrocapitalist foundations in impact investing for international development, focusing on the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access Initiative (COVAX) as a response to the current pandemic. Philanthrocapitalists and development institutions are increasingly turning to ‘blended finance’ and ‘social bonds’ to address the gaps in funding required to meet global development agendas, particularly in the arena of global health. These impact investing mechanisms deploy public or philanthropic money to leverage for-profit investment in development, by ‘de-risking’ (providing guarantees for) interventions that might otherwise put private capital at risk. Via COVAX, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has platformed a pandemic response centred on this approach, resisting alternative responses – such as the proposal for a temporary waiver to pharmaceutical patent rights – that seek to challenge the prevailing trade architecture. The global policy response to Covid-19 thus accelerates the ‘financialization’ of development and cements the role of philanthropy in ‘de-risking’ for-profit impact investment

The relations of segregation: new philanthropic practices among the São Paulo elite

Este trabalho contempla práticas filantrópicas contemporâneas entre a elite paulistana em sua interface com as dinâmicas de segregação urbana observadas nessa cidade. Procura-se investigar as relações que surgem em torno dessas práticas, mostrando que a segregação se caracteriza não somente pelo distanciamento, mas também por complexos jogos de interação cotidiana entre as populações que convivem na metrópole. A pesquisa baseia-se na etnografia de três iniciativas filantrópicas na cidade de São Paulo: um projeto escolar de ensino da língua inglesa, um centro de saúde infantil e um programa de preparação de jovens das elites para atuação no \"terceiro setor\". A atividade filantrópica se define, respectivamente, como \"serviço comunitário\", \"trabalho voluntário\" e ações de \"responsabilidade social\". Na análise dessas três iniciativas investigadas durante o trabalho de campo, destaca-se a tendência da prática filantrópica a passar, ao longo das últimas décadas, por um processo de \"profissionalização\", ou seja, a transição de um modelo baseado nos princípios de \"caridade\" e \"assistencialismo\" para um modelo de \"investimento social\". A reflexão sobre tal processo e sua incorporação por diversos sujeitos pede uma abordagem antropológica que preze as maneiras pelas quais essas redes se constroem e se desenvolvem, traçando conexões e associações entre lugares e influências diversas.This study explores contemporary philanthropic practices among the São Paulo elite and the ways in which they relate to the dynamics of urban segregation seen in this city. It investigates the relations born of these practices, in support of the hypothesis that segregated landscapes are characterized not by the absence of relations but by complex dynamics of daily interaction between different urban populations. The study is based on an ethnography of three philanthropic initiatives in São Paulo: an English language teaching project in a private school, a children\'s health centre and a programme designed to prepare young individuals from the city\'s elite to develop activities in the third sector. In these three projects, philanthropy is defined, respectively, as \"community service\", \"voluntary work\" and \"social responsibility\". In its analysis of these initiatives, this study identifies a growing trend over recent years towards the \"professionalization\" of philanthropic practice, presented in the field of philanthropy as the evolution of a \"charity\" or \"assistance\" type model towards one based on the concept of \"social investment\". The investigation of this process and its incorporation into the practices of a diversity of social actors calls for an anthropological approach that emphasizes the connections and associations between diverse networks of people and places

O bairro da Luz em São Paulo: questões antropológicas sobre o fenômeno da gentrification

This paper will explore, from an anthropological perspective, the extent to which the concept of gentrification can be applied to current urban interventions in the district of Luz, situated in the inner city of São Paulo (population 11 million), and caught between the conflicting interests of the preservation of historical patrimony, the promotion of cultural consumption and the historical use of the area’s public spaces by the working class. This question will be approached with emphasis on the following issues: local government policy on urban improvement and the stigmatization of areas occupied predominantly by the working class; the rethinking of tradition al dichotomies, such as the (analytically divisive) polarity “politics of urban intervention” vs. “resistance of affected groups”; the multiple meanings attributed to the notion of bairro (‘district’ or ‘neighborhood’) and the definition of terms of comparison with other cases (avoiding a priori perspectives).Esse artigo explora, numa perspectiva etnográfica, o alcance do conceito de gentrification com relação às mudanças (e também permanências) sociais e urbanas em curso no bairro da Luz, localizado na área central da cidade de São Paulo, situado numa confluência entre processos de preservação patrimonial de instituições culturais, intervenções urbanísticas e um uso histórico por parte de vários grupos provenientes das classes populares. Tais questões serão tratadas com atenção aos seguintes tópicos: políticas locais de intervenção em áreas marcadas pela estigmatização, quando ocupadas predominantemente pelas classes populares; a revisão da oposição “práticas de intervenção” vs. “resistência dos grupos atingidos” (marcadas por certas divisões do ponto de vista analítico); por fim, a busca de definições mais precisas dos termos de comparação com outros casos emblemáticos (evitando perspectivas apriorísticas).Esse artigo explora, numa perspectiva etnográfica, o alcance do conceito de gentrification com relação às mudanças (e também permanências) sociais e urbanas em curso no bairro da Luz, localizado na área central da cidade de São Paulo, situado numa confluência entre processos de preservação patrimonial de instituições culturais, intervenções urbanísticas e um uso histórico por parte de vários grupos provenientes das classes populares. Tais questões serão tratadas com atenção aos seguintes tópicos: políticas locais de intervenção em áreas marcadas pela estigmatização, quando ocupadas predominantemente pelas classes populares; a revisão da oposição “práticas de intervenção” vs. “resistência dos grupos atingidos” (marcadas por certas divisões do ponto de vista analítico); por fim, a busca de definições mais precisas dos termos de comparação com outros casos emblemáticos (evitando perspectivas apriorísticas)

O bairro da Luz em São Paulo: questões antropológicas sobre o fenômeno da gentrification El barrio de la Luz en São Paulo: cuestiones antropológicas sobre el fenómeno de la gentrification The Luz district in São Paulo: anthropological questions on the phenomenon of gentrification

Esse artigo explora, numa perspectiva etnográfica, o alcance do conceito de gentrification com relação às mudanças (e também permanências) sociais e urbanas em curso no bairro da Luz, localizado na área central da cidade de São Paulo, situado numa confluência entre processos de preservação patrimonial de instituições culturais, intervenções urbanísticas e um uso histórico por parte de vários grupos provenientes das classes populares. Tais questões serão tratadas com atenção aos seguintes tópicos: políticas locais de intervenção em áreas marcadas pela estigmatização, quando ocupadas predominantemente pelas classes populares; a revisão da oposição "práticas de intervenção" vs. "resistência dos grupos atingidos" (marcadas por certas divisões do ponto de vista analítico); por fim, a busca de definições mais precisas dos termos de comparação com outros casos emblemáticos (evitando perspectivas apriorísticas).<br>Este artículo explora, en una perspectiva etnográfica, el alcance del concepto de gentrification con relación a los cambios (y también permanencias) sociales y urbanos en curso en el barrio de la Luz , localizado en la área central de la ciudad de São Paulo, situado en una confluencia entre procesos de preservación patrimonial de instituciones culturales, intervenciones urbanísticas y un uso histórico por parte de varios grupos provenientes de las clases populares. Tales cuestiones serán tratadas con atención a los siguientes tópicos: políticas locales de intervención en áreas marcadas por la estigmatización, cuando ocupadas predominantemente por las clases populares; revisión de la oposición "prácticas de intervención" vs. "resistencia de los grupos afectados" (marcadas por ciertas divisiones del punto de vista analítico); y, por fin, la búsqueda de definiciones más precisas de los términos de comparación con otros casos emblemáticos (evitando perspectivas apriorísticas).<br>This paper will explore, from an anthropological perspective, the extent to which the concept of gentrification can be applied to current urban interventions in the district of Luz, situated in the inner city of São Paulo (population 11 million), and caught between the conflicting interests of the preservation of historical patrimony, the promotion of cultural consumption and the historical use of the area's public spaces by the working class. This question will be approached with emphasis on the following issues: local government policy on urban improvement and the stigmatization of areas occupied predominantly by the working class; the rethinking of tradition al dichotomies, such as the (analytically divisive) polarity "politics of urban intervention" vs. "resistance of affected groups"; the multiple meanings attributed to the notion of bairro ('district' or 'neighborhood') and the definition of terms of comparison with other cases (avoiding a priori perspectives)