Treat philanthropy not as charity but as a machine that buys and builds elite prestige to create durable soft power. The lever is funding 'elite human capital' and platforms that set fashionable ideas, which then cascade to mass consent.
— If donors can reliably convert money into prestige and then policy, debates about influence shift from lobbying to control of status‑granting institutions.
Arnold Kling
2025.08.24
85% relevant
Kling quotes Curtis Yarvin: 'The purpose of philanthropy is to convert money into power,' directly mirroring the thesis that big donors buy soft power by funding elite human capital and platforms.
Curtis Yarvin
2025.08.22
100% relevant
The article argues 20th‑century left philanthropy succeeded by generating prestige and that right‑wing donors should copy those early strategies.
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