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The Responsibilities of Wealth. Ed. by Dwight F. Burlingame. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992. x + 149 pp. $19.95, ISBN 0-253-31279-5.)
According to its jacket, this book is "the first in a series of volumes that will explore the history, ethics, and impact of philanthropy in the modern world." The book indeed provides a fitting beginning to such a series, for in various ways each of the essays explores the meaning, character, and foundations of philanthropic activity and responsibility. Andrew Carnegie's classic essay "The Gospel of Wealth" opens the book. Addressing the subject of "the proper administration of wealth," the essay puts forward Carnegie's views concerning the philanthropic obligations of the wealthy and the appropriate recipients of their largess. Carnegie's ideas are discussed in subsequent chapters by Barry D. Karl, Jonathan Riley, and Kenneth Fox. A...