Foundations and Public Policy: The Mask of Pluralism (Suny Series in Radical Social and Political Theory) - Softcover

Roelofs, Joan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0791456420 ISBN 13: 9780791456422

Publisher: State University of New York Press, 2003

Synopsis

Documents how even progressive foundations serve to reinforce the political status quo.

In this pathbreaking study of foundation influence, author Joan Roelofs produces a comprehensive picture of philanthropy’s critical role in society. She shows how a vast number of policy innovations have arisen from the most important foundations, lessening the destructive impact of global “marketization.” Conversely, groups and movements that might challenge the status quo are nudged into line with grants and technical assistance, and foundations also have considerable power to shape such things as public opinion, higher education, and elite ideology. The cumulative effect is that foundations, despite their progressive goals, have a depoliticizing effect, one that preserves the hegemony of neoliberal institutions.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"In this pathbreaking study of foundation influence, author Joan Roelofs produces a comprehensive picture of philanthropy's critical role in society. She shows how a vast number of policy innovations have arisen from the most important foundations, lessening the destructive impact of global "marketization." Conversely, groups and movements that might challenge the status quo are nudged into line with grants and technical assistance, and foundations also have considerable power to shape such things as public opinion, higher education, and elite ideology. The cumulative effect is that foundations, despite their progressive goals, have a depoliticizing effect, one that preserves the hegemony of neoliberal institutions."

About the Author:

Joan Roelofs is Professor of Political Science at Keene State College. She is the author of Greening Cities: Building Just and Sustainable Communities.

About this edition

• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0791456420
• ISBN 13: 9780791456422
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 284