The “Big 3” Foundations and American Global Power

• Date: 01 September 2015
• Published date: 01 September 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.12115
• Author: Inderjeet Parmar

The “Big 3” Foundations and American

Global Power

By INDERJEET PARMAR*

ABSTRACT. This article shows how the major foundations were extremely

influential in America’s rise to global hegemony over the past century.

The leadership of these foundations was part of the eastern foreign policy

establishment that initially mobilized support for a globalist, anti-

isolationist agenda and after World War II worked to construct a viable

intellectual framework promoting American perspectives in world affairs.

The development of foundation leadership in international relations took

place in three phases with different emphases, aimed at softening the

sharper edges of globalization and elite dominance to retain public

legitimacy: 1) shifting American public opinion from the 1920s to the

1950s in favor of liberal internationalism and a strong national

government, 2) creating an integrated global elite from the 1950s to the

1970s that could serve as conduits for American interests within the

institutions of each nation, and 3) developing democratic reforms in

response to neoliberalism after 1980 to gain legitimacy for the

international order, in order to sustain the idea that the political and

economic systems work for everyone. In this fashion, foundations were

able publicly to espouse principles of self-determination and economic

development for every nation, even though their actions paved the way

for the continuation of neocolonialism.

Introduction

Although large American foundations have not sold arms overseas,

toppled foreign governments, or sought to govern other countries, their

*Inderjeet Parmar is professor and head of department of international politics at

City University London. His most recent book (2012/2015) was Foundations of the

American Century: The Ford, Carnegie, and Rockefeller Foundations in the Rise of

American Power. His new book project is entitled Presidents and Prime Ministers at

War: Race, Empire and Elitism in Anglo-American Wars from Korea to the Wars on

Terror.

American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 74, No. 4 (September, 2015).

DOI: 10.1111/ajes.12115

V

C2015 American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc.

influence is felt around the world. It is easy to imagine that foundations

act entirely out of charitable impulses, designed to help people and

nations to overcome poverty, illiteracy, and illness. That is how many

people think foundations operate, and that is how they want us to per-

ceive them. In fact, philanthropic foundations have shaped American

political culture and assisted in imposing an American imperium upon

the world, a hegemony constructed in significant part via cultural and

intellectual penetration.

Not all of the work of the “Big 3” foundations (Ford, Rockefeller, and

Carnegie) was oriented toward foreign influence. They also operated

many domestic programs. In a sense, the purpose was the same at

home and abroad: to attain hegemony on behalf of elite interests by

shaping the symbols of everyday life. That aim was carried out by influ-

encing publications, civic organizations, and, above all, higher educa-

tion. I will not attempt to deal with the domestic side of foundation

programs except insofar as those activities were conducted to gain tacit

support by Americans for active intervention in the affairs of other

nations by government, corporations, banks, and foundations. Instead,

I will focus on the role played by the major foundations in shaping a

global consensus around modernization and the maintenance of institu-

tions that perpetuateelitism and inequality.

The Hegemonic Role of the Major Foundations

In this article, I will show some of the ways in which the major founda-

tions have been extremely influential in America’s riseto global hegem-

ony over the past century. The leadership of these foundations

consisted of members of the eastern foreign policy establishment,

which included the Council on Foreign Relations and the Foreign Pol-

icy Association. From the 1920s onward, they sought to gain support of

influential Americans for a globalist, anti-isolationist agenda and after

World War II to construct a viable intellectual framework to promote

the American perspective in world affairs.

The development of foundation leadership in international rela-

tions took place in three phases with different emphases, all of which

were aimed at softening the sharper edges of globalization and elite

dominance so they would remain acceptable to the public: 1) shifting

The Big 3 Foundations 677