The Bugs of Billionaires

• In Event: Comparative-Historical Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Comparative-Historical Roundtable 3

Abstract

Billionaires have long taken a keen interest in ridding the world of mosquito-borne disease. To address such a problem, they have dedicated substantial amounts of their fortunes to philanthropic organizations. To better understand billionaires’ fascination with bugs and the differences between their approaches to address disease, I bring a world historical approach into conversation with existing social scientific studies of philanthropy. Comparing the actions of the Rockefeller and Gates Foundations, I argue that their approaches to addressing disease are influenced by the ways in which each billionaire philanthropist was incorporated into the capitalist world system. The Rockefeller Foundation’s efforts to address infectious disease were part of the material expansion phase of the United States hegemonic cycle of accumulation during which profits were derived primarily from increasing worker productivity. In contrast, the Gates Foundation’s efforts to address infectious disease were part of the financial expansion phase of the United States hegemonic cycle of accumulation during which profits were derived primarily from the expansion and subsidization of patented products and novel financial mechanisms.

Author

• Brent Z. Kaup, College of William and Mary