The same is true of Google search. I examined the top ten search results for each donation, with broadly similar results: mostly negative for Zuckerberg and Bezos, mostly positive for Gates.
With Gates’ philanthropy being about malaria, Zuckerberg’s being about Newark schools, and Bezos’ being about preschools.
Also, as far as I can tell, Moskovitz’ philanthropy is generally considered positively, though of course I would be in a bubble with respect to this. Also also, though I say this without really checking, it seems that people are pretty much all against the Sacklers’ donations to art galleries and museums.
Squinting at these data points, I can kind of see a trend: people favour philanthropy that’s buying utilons, and are opposed to philanthropy that’s buying status. They like billionaires funding global development more than they like billionaires funding local causes, and they like them funding art galleries for the rich least of all.
Which is basically what you’d expect if people were well-calibrated and correctly criticising those who need to be taken down a peg.
and they like them funding art galleries for the rich least of all.
What are these art galleries “for the rich”? Your link mentions the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery, the Smithsonian, the Louvre, the Guggenheim, the Sackler Museum at Harvard, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the American Museum of Natural History as recipients of Sackler money. All of them are open to everyone. The first three are free and the others charge in the region of $15-$25 (as do the National Gallery and the Tate Gallery for special exhibitions, but not the bulk of their displays). The hostility to Sackler money has nothing to do with “how dare they be billionaires”, but is because of the (allegedly) unethical practices of the pharmaceutical company that the Sacklers own and owe their fortune to. No-one had any problem with their donations before.
Which is basically what you’d expect if people were well-calibrated and correctly criticising those who need to be taken down a peg.
I see nothing correct in the ethics of the crab bucket.
In Against Against Billionaire Philanthropy, Scott says
With Gates’ philanthropy being about malaria, Zuckerberg’s being about Newark schools, and Bezos’ being about preschools.
Also, as far as I can tell, Moskovitz’ philanthropy is generally considered positively, though of course I would be in a bubble with respect to this. Also also, though I say this without really checking, it seems that people are pretty much all against the Sacklers’ donations to art galleries and museums.
Squinting at these data points, I can kind of see a trend: people favour philanthropy that’s buying utilons, and are opposed to philanthropy that’s buying status. They like billionaires funding global development more than they like billionaires funding local causes, and they like them funding art galleries for the rich least of all.
Which is basically what you’d expect if people were well-calibrated and correctly criticising those who need to be taken down a peg.
What are these art galleries “for the rich”? Your link mentions the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery, the Smithsonian, the Louvre, the Guggenheim, the Sackler Museum at Harvard, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the American Museum of Natural History as recipients of Sackler money. All of them are open to everyone. The first three are free and the others charge in the region of $15-$25 (as do the National Gallery and the Tate Gallery for special exhibitions, but not the bulk of their displays). The hostility to Sackler money has nothing to do with “how dare they be billionaires”, but is because of the (allegedly) unethical practices of the pharmaceutical company that the Sacklers own and owe their fortune to. No-one had any problem with their donations before.
I see nothing correct in the ethics of the crab bucket.