MacKenzie Scott’s style of trust-based giving shocked the philanthropy world three years ago, and now she is also personally responsible for the decline of civilization, at least according to Elon Musk.
In a now-deleted post on X, Musk dismissed Scott’s giving decisions, writing, “‘Super rich ex-wives who hate their former spouse’ should filed [sic] be listed among ‘Reasons that Western Civilization died.’”
His comment was in response to criticism of Scott from another user, who posted, “Who is Bezos’ ex giving money to? According to her fund’s website, over half of the orgs to which she’s donated so far deal with issues of race and/or gender. Her fund ought to be called The AWFL Fund. It’s the ultimate aspirational expression of the most awful group in the US.”
The critic might have been decrying the ideology behind groups that are labeled as gender- or race-oriented rather than objecting generally to the support of groups focused on such subjects. However, the post itself communicates that the label is sufficient to judge ideology by, and that is rarely true.
So what is Scott giving to? Scott’s records are publicly available on her foundation’s website. Her gifts support controversial causes such as funding abortion access and activism on LGBT issues. They also include causes such as increasing civic knowledge and political depolarization efforts. These varied gifts reflect two great accomplishments of Western civilization: a robust civil society and a strong commitment to charity.
Just a small sample of the nearly 2,000 organizations to which Scott has given over the past three years shows how one label might be insufficient to dismiss her contributions outright. Gifts tagged as “gender identity” include a $20 million gift to the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh as well as legal services to end violence toward children and women. Should an organization labeled “gender issues” be dismissed because it serves to protect some of society’s most vulnerable?
No one person will agree with all of the missions of the organizations Scott supports, or even a majority of the organizations. The strength of the nonprofit sector depends on the diversity of perspectives that donors bring.
This is the same idea behind intellectual diversity, a hallmark of Western civilization, and democracy. There are too many problems in the world to be solved one way, and a robust philanthropic sector has a diversity of causes and a diversity of approaches to solve the greatest number of social needs. Western civilization makes space for this kind of pluralism, which includes solving problems from different ideological perspectives.
Musk is right that civil society seems to be dying: each year, fewer people give. Public trust in nonprofit organizations and philanthropy is down, and fewer people are volunteering with organizations.
The X user criticizing Scott’s giving to particular groups as the issue implies that Western civilization does not include supporting women and minorities, but it assuredly does.
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W.E.B. Du Bois and Martin Luther King Jr. would have a lot to say about that. So would scholars Anika Prather, who argues for the inclusion of black intellectuals in the classical canon, and Roosevelt Montas, a Dominican American who highlights the accessibility of the great books to every audience. This is, in fact, part of a long debate, highlighted by Emma Green’s recent piece in the New Yorker, “Have the Liberal Arts Gone Conservative?,” on the history of classical education.
Scott may not give the way I or Musk would give. But working toward affordable housing, educational access, and quality higher education are all based on ideas such as legal equality, individual responsibility, and the pursuit of happiness. These same ends can be worked toward from a progressive, independent, or conservative perspective. Elon Musk would do well to follow Scott’s example and give more to causes that build Western civilization and strengthen civil society.
Rebecca Richards is the associate director of the Fund for Academic Renewal, the philanthropic advisory service of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.