includes index and biblioraphy

In this pathbreaking study of foundaiton 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 imporatnt 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 things as public opinion, higher education, and elite ideology. The cumulative effect is that foundations, despite their progressive goals,l have a depoliticizing effect, one that preserves the hegemony of neoliberal institutions.