Gandhi’s trusteeship doctrine echoed American robber-baron philanthropy.

Evidence

To justify the idea of the rich becoming the “guardians of the poor”, he argued that “the rich cannot accumulate wealth without the co-operation of the poor in society”. And then, to empower the poor wards of the rich guardians: “If this knowledge were to penetrate to and spread amongst the poor, they would become strong and would learn how to free themselves by means of non-violence from the crushing inequalities which have brought them to the verge of starvation.” Gandhi’s ideas of trusteeship echo almost verbatim what American capitalists—the Robber Barons—like J.D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie were saying at the time. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 276

Categorization

• XREF: Striking cross-continental parallel between Gandhi’s ‘trusteeship’ and Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth — both let the rich keep their wealth while assuaging conscience.