As for my current chapter, it leads directly off of the last one, which was a history of mass education, university education, and defining a concept of “social control.” From that, I lead into the origins of organized philanthropy, the emergence of the foundations in the Progressive Era, their flirtations and participation (funding) with the eugenics movement at the beginning of the 20th century, as well as the impact eugenics had on the developing ideas of the public, the social order, education, and psychology at the beginning of the century. I move into discussing how the foundations, armed with the ideology of “social control”, infused with the ideas of the eugenics movement, moved into the realm of educational reform. This is where I have reached at this point in the chapter, and there is a great deal more to write on this one. There was a great quote in an exchange between John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and Charles Davenport (who was the chairman of the Eugenics Record Office, funded by the Carnegie Corporation), in which they were discussing the notion of “social engineering” in 1913, and Rockefeller referred to the classes of people below the elite as the “criminal classes.” ‘Tis quite revealing in terms of reflecting the attitudes of our oligarchs for the ‘common’ people.
The rest of the chapter will, as they do, take on a life of its own. But the general direction I am aiming for it to traverse is an examination of the role of foundations (especially Rockefeller, Carnegie, and later Ford) in shaping the social sciences as a means of social engineering and with the intent of social control. It will certainly be a fascinating chapter from the perspective of understanding how these little-understood institutions have shaped our educational system, and the very way we think; they have, in fact, constructed “knowledge.”
Thank you again for all your support, and please continue to support the Project through donations and promoting the venture through word-of-mouth.
Cheers,
Andrew
