Philanthropic Foundations And The Politics Of The U.S.

As it is known that the United States is a "melting pot" containing people from nearly all the countries and nations. It is also a country with multi-politics and multi-culture. Many actors, besides the government, congress, senate, and political parties, play important roles in its political arena. Interest groups, mass media, religious bodies, think tanks and philanthropic foundations are some of them. Among these actors, philanthropic foundations are unique intermediary institutions in the American society. They are so prosperous, influential and broad in scale that no philanthropic institutions in other countries can be equal to them. Few important cultural projects in the U.S., large or small, are not related to the ideology and influence of foundations directly or indirectly. They exert great influence on the American politics. It is a subject deserving of study.In this dissertation, the author, under the guidance of the dialectic and historical materialism, makes an objective study of the relations between foundations and the politics of the United States with special reference to Carnegie, Rockefeller and Ford foundations. He points out that philanthropic foundations represent the ideology and interests of the elite in the United States.The structure and major points of this dissertation are as follows.Chapter One-Introduction. In this chapter the author reviews and analyzes the study of this special subject and its significance and puts forward the research methods and structure of this dissertation.Chapter Two-Modern Philanthropic Foundations of the U.S. In this chapter the author defines the objects of this study and analyzes their characteristics, ranges, purposes and categories. He also points out that philanthropic foundations in the United States enjoy great independence and stability. They can be divided into various categories according to different standards.Chapter Three-Origin and Evolution of Modern Philanthropic Foundations in the U.S. In this chapter the author analyzes why philanthropic foundations originated in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. The boom in economy at the end of the 19th century created many millionaires who were able to establish foundations. The cultural and religious traditions, the "muckraking" during the Progressive Era and the rising of labor movement in the world also contributed to the establishment of philanthropic foundations. In their one-hundred-year history, philanthropic foundations grew more prosperous and influential and became one of the important actors in the political arena of the United States.Chapter Four-Philanthropic Foundations and Domestic Affairs of the U.S. In this chapter the author analyzes the influence of the activities of the foundations on the domestic affairs of the United States. Philanthropic foundations supported many cultural, educational, public health and scientific research projects which contributed greatly to American society. They also supported the study of racial problems and the civil rights movement, which led the government to solve these problems. The achievements in the study of social sciences were useful guidance and reference for the government to formulate policies.Chapter Five-Philanthropic Foundations and Foreign Affairs of the U.S. In this chapter the author analyzes the relations between the international activities of philanthropic foundations and foreign affairs of the United States. Philanthropic foundations were active in spreading culture, surely the American culture, worldwide. They supported many cultural exchange and highereducation projects that trained many pro-American figures. They contributed a lot to the strengthening of American hegemony over the world. Therefore, they were considered "silent partners" in U.S. foreign policy determination.Chapter Six-Philanthropic Foundations and the U.S. Government. In this chapter the author focuses his study on the relations between foundations and the government. Philanthropic foundations have one thousand and...