Investigating the Giants: Power, Politics, and Propaganda in America’s Billion-Dollar Tax-Exempt Foundations
Dive into the explosive world of America’s largest philanthropic institutions with this deep dive based on Rene A. Wormser’s seminal 1958 work, Foundations: Their Power and Influence. As General Counsel to the Reece Committee (Special Committee to Investigate Tax Exempt Foundations), Wormser details the intense scrutiny faced by tax-exempt organizations bearing the powerful names of Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Ford. The congressional inquiry sought to uncover the “incredible fact” that the huge fortunes amassed by industrial giants were allegedly being used to “destroy or discredit the free-enterprise system” that created them.
Unchecked Power and Ideological Warfare: This explainer video examines the core concerns raised by Congressman B. Carroll Reece: the use of foundation funds to support Marxist tendencies and undermine American traditions. We reveal how a powerful, interlocking, and self-perpetuating “elite” controls vast resources, operating outside traditional democratic checks. The immense influence is magnified by the colossal size of the Ford Foundation, dubbed “Gargantua of Philanthropy,” which held billions in capital.
The Network of Influence: Explore how this concentration of power—often characterized as an “intellectual cartel”—exerts control over critical areas:
Social Sciences: The foundations focused heavily on the “social sciences,” a field ripe for ideological subversion. They favored a collectivist and “liberal” agenda, often supporting the concept of “social engineering”. Figures like the “liberal” educator Dr. Robert Maynard Hutchins (associated with The Fund for the Republic) and socialist economist Dr. Gunnar Myrdal (author of the highly influential An American Dilemma, financed by the Carnegie Corporation) were central to this ideological shift.
Intermediaries: The giants delegated authority and funding through “clearing houses” such as the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) and the American Council on Education. This practice intensified conformity and suppressed independent scholarly dissent.
Foreign Policy and Subversion: The video highlights the foundation's impact on global affairs, including the support of “globalism” and organizations like The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and The Council on Foreign Relations. The investigation detailed the catastrophic infiltration of the Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR), supported by Rockefeller and Carnegie millions, which was identified as serving “international Communist and Soviet interests”. The presence of figures like Alger Hiss (former president of the Carnegie Endowment) underscores the severity of this penetration.
Learn why this investigation was declared “unnecessary” by foundation apologists, even as the notorious Fund for the Republic (a Ford Foundation offshoot) engaged in highly political and controversial activities, such as sponsoring work by individuals linked to Communism and challenging U.S. security measures.
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