The Wealthy Promise to “Change the World.” Are They?

Wealth Shock
In this Sept. 24, 2013 file photo, cut stacks of $100 bills make their way down the line at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas. According to a study released on Tuesday, April 3, 2018, middle-aged Americans who experienced a sudden, large economic blow were more likely to die during the following years than those who didn’t. The heightened danger of death after a devastating loss, which researchers called a “wealth shock,” crossed socio-economic lines, affecting people no matter how much money they had to start. AP Photo
Wealth Shock
In this Sept. 24, 2013 file photo, cut stacks of $100 bills make their way down the line at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas. According to a study released on Tuesday, April 3, 2018, middle-aged Americans who experienced a sudden, large economic blow were more likely to die during the following years than those who didn’t. The heightened danger of death after a devastating loss, which researchers called a “wealth shock,” crossed socio-economic lines, affecting people no matter how much money they had to start. AP Photo

The Wealthy Promise to “Change the World.” Are They?

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“World changing has been co-opted by the rich and powerful,” says our  guest Anand Giridharadas, a former New York Times columnist and author of the book, Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World. In recent decades, corporations have been catering to a new generation of conscious consumers by posing themselves as ethically responsible and charitable. But Giridharadas argues that these American corporations and elites generally seek to maintain exploitative systems that cause many of the problems they purport to fix. To discuss this apparent hypocrisy with Giridharadas is Jeffrey Winters, director of Northwestern University’s Equality Development and Globalization Studies Program and author of Oligarchy. Giridharadas will speak at the Chicago Ideas Festival on Thursday, October 18th.