Ross Douthat on what AI money should learn from the golden age of philanthropy
Ross Douthat critiques the recent era of philanthropy, highlighting its failures in creating lasting physical infrastructure. He contrasts this with the impactful contributions of earlier philanthropists who built significant cultural landmarks. Douthat suggests that modern philanthropic efforts lack comparable monuments for future generations to admire.
- ▪The recent philanthropic era has been criticized for failing to create lasting physical infrastructure.
- ▪Figures like Gates have made effective contributions to poverty reduction and disease fighting, but often supported fleeting political causes.
- ▪In contrast, early 20th-century philanthropists built iconic institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Carnegie Hall.
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Ross Douthat on what AI money should learn from the golden age of philanthropy by Tyler Cowen May 23, 2026 at 7:35 am in History The Arts This was a great failure of the most recent philanthropic era. At its best, the infrastructure established by figures like Gates delivered effective efforts to reduce poverty and fight disease; at its worst, it threw money after fashionable political causes and education fads. But there was no real legacy when it came to physical infrastructure — no great beautification campaigns, no beloved architectural landmarks, no equivalent of the Gilded Age’s expansions of museums and libraries and concert halls, and few personal expressions of extravagance (like the Newport mansions or Hearst Castle) for future tourists to admire.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Marginal Revolution.
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