Could a combination of philanthropy and social justice advocacy help progressives overcome the influence of corporate money to achieve real change?
On October 13, journalist Bill Moyers moderated a discussion between The Atlantic Philanthropies President Gara LaMarche and Deepak Bhargava, the Executive Director of the Campaign for Community Change, about the road ahead for progressives in the current political climate. At The Atlantic Philantrophies New York office, LaMarche and Bhargava expanded on the views that they expressed in their Nation article, "The Road Ahead for Progressives."
LaMarche and Bhargava argue for a connection between philanthropy and social justice advocacy that would help progressives overcome the influence of money, corporations and the mainstream media to achieve real change. Bhargava says that it is "scandalous that in the year 2010 there is hardly a dime spent on civil participation in this country."
LaMarche puts forward a more optimistic perspective: "We have a diverse country that looks very different and young people are increasingly having more progressive attitudes… Things are moving in the right direction. There are [people like] Carl Paladino out there who make no apologies for their bigotry, but I see that as a backlash that you get when you see a forward movement." Although LaMarche thinks that people like Paladino are threatened when people are coming forward to claim their places in society, LaMarche is "optimistic" about the longer term progressive movement.