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== Win-Win ==
== Win-Win ==


The idea of "doing well by doing good", which is derived from the concept of
win-win interactions (see Stephen R. Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective
People) has become prevalent among modern charities, so much so that any
charitable activity which doesn't involve a monetary return on investment is
looked down upon as a losing proposition.
Social enterprises like micro-loans belong to this category.
Several such enterprises try to solve the symptoms of the problems caused by
ruthless capitalism which ignores the human aspect in its relentless pursuit
of efficiency and profit.


== Critique ==
== Critique ==


The author never once mentioned the word solidarity in the book. For a book that's essentially about criticism of charity and the motives behind it, this was unexpected.
The author never once mentioned the word solidarity in the book. For a book that's essentially about criticism of charity and the motives behind it, this was unexpected.

Revision as of 15:38, 16 March 2020

Subtitle: The Elite Charade of Changing the World

Author: Anand Giridharadas

Winners Take All.png

About the Author

Anand Giridharadas is an American journalist of Indian origin.


Definitions

In the following review, I mean the same set of people when the following words are used:

  • Elite
  • Winners
  • Rich
  • Billionaires
  • 1% or 0.1%

Premise

The age of extreme charity is also the age of extreme inequality. This book is an attempt to explore if there's a correlation between the two.

In the past 30 years, the number of people who own wealth equivalent to the bottom half of America went down from 300 to 8.

Win-Win

The idea of "doing well by doing good", which is derived from the concept of win-win interactions (see Stephen R. Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) has become prevalent among modern charities, so much so that any charitable activity which doesn't involve a monetary return on investment is looked down upon as a losing proposition.

Social enterprises like micro-loans belong to this category.

Several such enterprises try to solve the symptoms of the problems caused by ruthless capitalism which ignores the human aspect in its relentless pursuit of efficiency and profit.

Critique

The author never once mentioned the word solidarity in the book. For a book that's essentially about criticism of charity and the motives behind it, this was unexpected.