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To set an example of modest, unostentatious living, shunning display or extravagance; to provide moderately for the legitimate wants of those dependent on him; and, after doing so, to consider all surplus revenues which come to him simply as trust funds, which he is called upon to administer, and strictly bound as a matter of duty to administer in the manner which, in his judgment, is best calculated to produce the most beneficial results for the community—the man of wealth thus becoming the mere trustee and agent for his poor brethren, bringing to their service his superior wisdom, experience, and ability to administer, doing for them better than they would or could do for themselves.13

In this way, wrote Carnegie, the wealth of the capitalists would be deployed for the benefit of the entire community. Carnegie established several major philanthropic institutions in the United States and Europe, such as the Carnegie Endowment, the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University), and numerous Carnegie libraries around the United States. He in turn inspired John D. Rockefeller to establish the Rockefeller Foundation, perhaps the most successful and influential philanthropic effort in modern history, as it contributed to fundamental advances in the fight against poverty, hunger, and disease, and to countless breakthroughs in the sciences and public administration. Carnegie’s social gospel lives on today in the philanthropic efforts of Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, George Soros, Ted Turner, Bill Gross, and other wealthy Americans who are giving away vast sums in the pursuit of poverty eradication, public education, disease control, and strengthening of democratic institutions. Gates and Buffett have also actively encouraged dozens of their fellow billionaires to commit to donating at least half of their wealth in philanthropic efforts.

What does not live on, however, is the original moral underpinning of capitalism. Today’s great wealth holders, with the notable exception of the few leading corporate philanthropists, are much better known for their profligacy than their asceticism. Birthday parties, weddings, anniversaries are celebrated with high profile, multimillion-dollar bashes that are designed for the paparazzi and public titillation in service of their self-gratification. And the public duly obliges by keeping their eyes firmly fixed on the round-the-clock cable coverage. Hypercommercialism has reached the highest levels of the society, and has helped blind the super-rich to the dire needs of the rest of society.

Advertising in the Facebook Age

The TV age is quickly becoming the broadband age, when information is carried into our lives through a dizzying array of Internet-linked devices. A great debate has begun: what will the Internet and always-on connectivity mean for our society?

When the Internet was first invented and the World Wide Web became a new vehicle for mass communication and diffusion of information, many pioneers of the new technology believed that it would be profoundly democratizing and anticommercial in its effects. Access would be free or nearly so, and everybody’s voice could contribute equally to the new global debate and discussion. The old monopolies of information would quickly be dissipated, and a new global cooperation would ensue.

Those hopes, alas, are quickly fading. The Internet has apparently fragmented, rather than unified, the public square. Many observers argue convincingly that the logic of largely self-contained groups organized on the Internet around shared beliefs is leading to further polarization and increasingly aggressive surliness in the public debate.

As for commercialization, the Internet offers advertisers and marketers the most powerful tool yet for directing their messaging to target groups. By monitoring our online behavior—the websites we visit, the purchases we make, the individuals we “friend” on social networks—advertisers have new tools to spread messages