It’s a book about the many ways the ruling class cheat the working class into grinding themselves down for pennies (and liking it). The ‘philanthropists’ are those charitable, ragged workers who kindly grind themselves to the bone whilst living their lives in poverty to support the rich owners in living in luxury and hoarding resources. The philanthropists, charitably vote for political parties that preserve the status quo and keep themselves poor, whilst being hostile to any of their kind who suggest a handful of rich men shouldn’t own everything.
It was written in the 1900s, set in Edwardian England, but it still feels very relevant (increasingly relevant) to modern capitalism/ the way so many working class folk are taken in by conservatism and billionaire idols like Musk. The workers in this story are house painters, but there’s a lot that remains true with jobs today – there’s a lot of stories about enforced skimping on quality, low wages, unfair bosses, micromanagement etc. For a book about Edwardian painters, it felt too relatable for comfort.
Has anyone read this too?
Link to Goodreads, I’m sure they’ll have described it better than me.