Decentralized globalization: Free markets, United States foundations, and the rise of civil and civic society from Rockefeller's Latin America to Soros' Eastern Europe

This work shows how U.S. Tax Exempt Organization (TEO) Law has evolved to become the most important in the world owing to its flexibility. Where the laws of most countries require prior legal authorization to launch in a new direction, U.S. TEO law recognizes no such limit. Thus, U.S. TEO law, unlike most other countries, is never trying to make legal what is already underway in the world.; The USA and now Mexico, which together have signed the first effective accord for mutual recognition of foundation and NGO sectors, offers the first world standard for philanthrophy.; To explain the U.S. Model in language that is easier to fathom than the legal code, I "simplify" it by translating figuratively. Thus "Non-Profit" is here "Not-For-Private Profit," avoiding therefore problems faced by Mexico and Romania as they have attempted to facilitate the flow of foundation funds to their countries.; In developing a way to translate the U.S. legal framework in a standard way for this era of Globalization, I hope that this work offers a basis for others to advance their own analysis of the issues presented here.; The work is organized to examine the traditional U.S. Centralized Model as developed for world philanthropy by the Rockefeller foundation early this century. The most important variation is the Decentralized Model established under U.S. Tax Lax by the Hungarian-born George Soros, who has set up National Boards to direct their own destiny in 31 countries. Recently three new models have surfaced, and they are examined briefly as needing separate study in the future. Two are positive models and one is an anti-model.; This work also distinguishes between civil society of which the activist Civic Society is a part. The rise of these sectors, I argue here has been made possible by Globalization of telecommunications and Free Trade.