Reddit reviews No Such Thing as a Free Gift: The Gates Foundation and the Price of Philanthropy

https://www.amazon.com/Such-Thing-Free-Gift-Philanthropy/dp/1784786233

Interesting that one of the fastest growing business in the world is philanthropy. Even though Gates is "giving" his wealth away, he's still making billions.

Here's a good book to read:)

https://www.amazon.com/Such-Thing-Free-Gift-Philanthropy/dp/1784786233

Thanks so much!

As for what to read, it really depends on what you're interested in but I always recommend the classics when it comes to anything to do with the left first.

However, if you'd like something more modern and lighter here are some of my recent favorites:

• Why Marx Was Right - Terry Eagleton is a fantastic author and this book has sold more than one friend of mine on the concept of Marxism. A great resource to learn more about the socialist left and hear the other side of the story if you've been sold the mainstream narrative on Marx.
  
  
• A Cure for Capitalism - An elegant roadmap for ethically dismantling capitalism by the most prominant Marxist economist alive today, Richard D. Wolff. Very utility-based and pretty ideologically pure to Marx while still taking into account modern economic circumstances.
  
  
• No Such Thing as a Free Gift: The Gates Foundation and the Price of Philanthropy - this one is a great take-down of how modern NGO organizations (especially the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) are the premium outlet for soft imperialism for the US.
  
  
• Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair - added this because it was a very impactful, recent read for me. A lot of left-of-republican people support some kind of prison reform but we usually view it through the lens of helping "non-violent offenders". This book digs into that distinction and how we, as a society, can't seriously try to broach meaningful prison reform before we confront the notion of helping those who have done violent things in their past.
  
  
• [Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women] (https://www.amazon.com/Backlash-Undeclared-Against-American-Women/dp/0307345424/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1550926471&sr=1-4&keywords=backlash) - probably my favorite book on modern feminism and why it is, in fact, not obsolete and how saying/believing as much is key to the ideology behind the attacks from the patriarchal ruling class. Can't recommend it enough if you're on the fence about feminism.
  
  
• How to Read Donald Duck: Imperialist Ideology in the Disney Comic - Written in the 70's by a couple of Marxists during the communist purge in Chile, this book does a fantastic job of unwrapping how ideology baked into pop culture can very effectively influence the masses. Though I can only recommend this one if you're already hard sold on Socialism because you might not even agree with some of the core premises if you're on the fence and will likely get little out of it.
  
  
• Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? - Mark Fisher's seminal work deconstructing how capitalism infects everything in modern life. He killed himself a few years after publishing it. My most recommended book, probably.

He's giving from one hand, taking back from the other basically. And his giving on one hand is done for spectacle, for public image, it's what a PR firm told him to do after the 1999 microsoft monopoly trials.

A lot of his non-profit aid consist in paying for-profits that are often already responsible for the issues in Africa, or aid that benefit microsoft following this simple scheme : give money to for-profit to help education -> this for-profit then use the money to buy microsoft license to help said education. In 2014 they have 2.2 millions dollars of their foundation invested in for profit prison, probably more now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_%26_Melinda_Gates_Foundation#Criticism

They are monsanto's dog :

https://americaoutloud.com/the-bill-and-melinda-gates-foundation-is-the-gangster-godfather/

https://www.amazon.com/Such-Thing-Free-Gift-Philanthropy/dp/1784786233

https://medium.com/@CitationsPodcst/episode-45-the-not-so-benevolent-billionaire-bill-gates-and-western-media-b1f8e0fe092f

Microsoft is a scam, it's a malware and spyware, designed for control, thanks to him the USA have an awesome way to spy easily basically anybody who uses it. Microsoft is an active participant to the PRISM project.

Devil's best trick is make us believe he doesn't exist.

> Rich people do not monetarily benefit from charitable donations unless they’re committing fraud.

Here is a whole book about it. And yes, they have very creative ways to get returns on their investments. Tax avoidance being a big one.

His “charitable giving” to media companies helps build that kind of public sentiment. Look under the surface and it’s not so rosy.

Here, friend. Read this:

https://www.amazon.com/Such-Thing-Free-Gift-Philanthropy/dp/1784786233