The term “robber baron” came to be used to describe the men who created such wealth. It was meant to be contradictory in meaning because many thought these men gained this kind of wealth typically found amongst the aristocracy through illegal means. Men like John D. Rockefeller became philanthropists and they created foundations to help reverse this kind of bad publicity. They also got useful tax breaks. Foundations would allow robber barons to do the work governments couldn’t or wouldn’t do in areas like sanitation and transportation, healthcare, and especially education. The Influence of the Carnegie, Ford, and Rockefeller Foundations on American Foreign Policy, Edward H. Berman argues that corporate philanthropies are used as political and ideological agencies by the corporate elite to maintain and extend the dominant social order. Berman claims, “The subsequent support by the foundation for various educational configurations both at home and abroad cannot be separated from their attempts to evolve a stable domestic polity and a world order amenable to their interests and the strengthening of international capitalism”
The term “robber baron” came to be used to describe the men who created such wealth. It was meant to be contradictory in meaning because many thought these men gained this kind of wealth typically found amongst the aristocracy through illegal means. Men like John D. Rockefeller became philanthropists and they created foundations to help reverse this kind of bad publicity. They also got useful tax breaks. Foundations would allow robber barons to do the work governments couldn’t or wouldn’t do in areas like sanitation and transportation, healthcare, and especially education. The Influence of the Carnegie, Ford, and Rockefeller Foundations on American Foreign Policy, Edward H. Berman argues that corporate philanthropies are used as political and ideological agencies by the corporate elite to maintain and extend the dominant social order. Berman claims, “The subsequent support by the foundation for various educational configurations both at home and abroad cannot be separated from their attempts to evolve a stable domestic polity and a world order amenable to their interests and the strengthening of international capitalism”