GENIUS PART 2 "A Topography of Transactions" - Chapter 1 “Economics and the Presence of Philanthropy”

The main focus of this chapter was the importance of philanthropy. The economy can still function without philanthropy, but without it we start seeing non-profits and other services suffer. Some of these things include education, research, and art. Without philanthropy they would pretty much be headed for extinction. Bloom argues that, in traditional classic economics we cannot find philanthropy and the art/science of giving.
Philanthropy is not only good for the economic cycle but it also supports social capital. Boom argues this point by saying throughout history human kindness has gone a long way. We can find many cases in history that money was not needed to create happiness in our society. Besides money we can always share care, knowledge, imagination, and inspiration. Boom says that our society does not value these things as much as money, so it has been left to philanthropy to make gifting an important aspect of society. It is not always about getting something in return, when you gift, the return is immeasurable. Boom's point is that, through gifting we learn more about life (education, research, and art) that can then lead to economic renewal. “The logic here is one of functional integration rather than cause and effect.”
Social finance explains how money and finance supports human initiative and the evolution of new communities. In the global economy, social finance shows that humans are fully interdependent. An example of this is businesses making charitable distribution of a portion of their profits. This gifting creates a whole economic cycle, which leads to an improved and sustainable future.