JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, JR, AND THE LEGACY OF WOODROW WILSON

Perparimi Jeu 6 Nov - 16:38

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, JR, AND THE LEGACY OF WOODROW WILSON

The story of the Rockefellers' embrace of internationalism begins not with speculative tales of their "reptilian" origins or with John D. Rockefeller, Senior (1839-1937) - the uncompromising patriarch and founder of Standard Oil, the very basis of the Rockefellers' power - but with John D. Rockefeller, Junior (1874-1960), who controlled the Rockefeller fortune during the first half of the 20th century.

This may seem at odds with prevailing orthodoxies and other more entertaining accounts, but the Rockefellers did not subscribe to the globalist ideology until Junior's time.

Despite his numerous trips to Europe and attempts to capture foreign oil markets (resulting in a clash with the Rothschilds at one point), Rockefeller Senior had shown little interest in international affairs. Besides his vast fortune (the equivalent of nearly US$200 billion in today's terms), Rockefeller's only other enduring legacy to his extended family, and by extension the New World Order, was a philosophy of philanthropy in service of his professed interest in improving humanity.

The basis for Rockefeller Senior's philanthropy, according to Rockefeller biographer Ron Chernow, was his "mystic faith that God had given him money for mankind's benefit".

Rockefeller was a devout Baptist, and his religion determined much of his early philanthropy. He was also influenced by Carnegie's argument that the rich should use their money to dampen social tensions stemming from growing inequality, rather than leave it to their heirs to waste on hedonistic lifestyles.

Carnegie wrote in the North American Review (June 1889) that

"The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced". Inspired by Carnegie's missive, Rockefeller embarked upon a vigorous program of philanthropy, though he avoided direct gifts to the needy. Citing the need to "abolish evils by destroying them at the source", he poured his money into educational institutions, hoping their graduates would "spread their culture far and wide".

Rockefeller was unwilling to upset the social hierarchy, subscribing to the Darwinian view that those at the bottom of the food chain were there because of personality defects and "weakness of body, mind or character, will or temperament" - though he believed that through his generosity he could create the necessary "strong personality" among the weak, leading to "the wider distribution of wealth". (6)

For Rockefeller, changing how people thought rather than their material circumstances was the more worthy cause.

But there were also some more pragmatic calculations behind Rockefeller's establishment of a philanthropic empire. Following Ida Tarbell's scathing history of Standard Oil in McClure's Magazine in 1902, Rockefeller was obsessed with improving his public image. By institutionalizing his giving, Rockefeller hoped to "prove that rich businessmen could honorably discharge the burden of wealth" (Chernow) as well as dampen further inquiries into the origins of his fortune.

The other reason, which emerged once Woodrow Wilson introduced income taxes in 1913, was that gifts to philanthropic funds were tax exempt. Hence, the incorporation of the Rockefeller Foundation in 1913 protected much of his vast wealth from inheritance taxes.

This was a real concern to Rockefeller, who opposed even the recently introduced six per cent income tax, declaring that,

"when a man has accumulated a sum of money... the Government has no right to share in its earnings". (7)

During the mid-1890s, Rockefeller gradually retired from publicly running Standard Oil, while pouring a sizeable portion of his fortune into the Rockefeller Foundation and other charitable trusts.

From 1915, he turned over his remaining wealth to his only son and designated heir, Junior. Unlike his shrewd and ruthless father, Junior was shy, tormented by self-loathing and clearly burdened by the weight of his father's expectations that he would now run the Rockefeller family's business and philanthropic affairs.

It was to help him manage this awesome task that in 1920 Junior employed the lawyer Raymond B. Fosdick (1883-1972) as one of his key strategic advisers. ( Cool