"What a particular group of persons understands, believes, and acts upon, even if quite absurd to outsiders, may nonetheless cement social relations and allow the members of the group to act together and accomplish feats otherwise impossible. Moreover, membership in such a group and participation in its sufferings and triumphs give meaning and value to individual human lives."1

Let me begin with a working definition of philanthropy. Philanthropy may be defined as "voluntary action for the public good," in which voluntary action embraces voluntary service, voluntary giving, and voluntary association. when defined in that way, philanthropy is extremely broad in scope and, on any comparative measure, enormous in scale. In fact, it is usually the magnitude of philanthropy (the statistical measures of the number of volunteers, donors, associations, dollars contributed, hours volunteered, recipients served, people employed, etc.) that is used to describe American philanthropy.

In this paper, I choose to view philanthropy from another perspective, the perspective of I'mythistory.11 As we enter upon this new Polish-American partnership to study the role of the voluntary sector in social welfare, we should endeavor to make visible our respective mythistories--that is, the stories we have created about the philanthropic facts of our two societies. I want to emphasize the stories and not just the facts themselves; it is the stories that shape and motivate philanthropy. (To the extent that we are able to be self-critical, we will also note the inconsistencies between myth and history, breaks in the patterns we would impose on, or infer from, the facts.)

Philanthropy, as I use it here, is not as self-conscious in Poland as it is in the United States, which means that we must be aware that philanthropy will usually carry a different name or wear a different label. In a city like Gdansk, with its long tradition of philanthropy, its early development as a civil society, and its recent role in the struggle for freedom as the home of the Solidarity movement, myth and history are powerful resources for presenting the story of philanthropy. We will find in them, I am sure, an interpretation of the Solidarity movement that would see it as a triumph of "voluntary action for the public good."

The mythistory of American philanthropy is a moral narrative that reveals the role of good works in shaping the good life and the good society. In interpreting the philanthropic facts, this 6 philanthropic mythistory intends not only to inform, but to reveal the national character.

It could be said that the philanthropic tradition is America's most distinctive virtue--it is the aspect of American life and character most worthy of praise. Philanthropy is put forward as a corrective of the less attractive features of American culture--its individualism, materialism, and commercialism. Despite the pattern of evidence that would label Americans as self-centered and materialistic, the philanthropic narrative reveals another pattern, one of generous behavior and concern for the well-being of others. Coming to the aid of the neighbor and the stranger is as important a symbol of American life as its popular culture and its economic vitality.

Philanthropy does indeed permeate the lives of Americans. It is difficult to escape the influence of past acts of generosity, even though they are usually taken for granted. I refer to symphony halls, colleges and universities, parks, libraries, museums, hospitals, and also to shelters for the homeless, scholarships for the studious, day-care centers for the children of working mothers, travel stipends for scholars, companionship for the dying, funds for the purchase of paintings.

The presence of these resources in our lives reveals something about the national character, something that is taken to be true about Americans, truths that are shared. "Without such social cement," William McNeill argues, "no group can long preserve itself."2

Throughout history, religion has provided the rationale for charity (seen as acts of mercy to relieve suffering, especially among the most vulnerable), and it remains central to philanthropy in both Poland and the United States. Organized religion in the United States claims special privileges under the law, based at least in part on its service to the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the stranger. Statistically, religion represents almost half of all philanthropic giving and voluntary service. Although it is impossible to make a clear distinction between funds which are given to religious institutions for charity and those which are given for liturgical purposes, it is clear that American philanthropy relies heavily on American religion. And, in justifying itself, American religion relies heavily on American philanthropy.

Religion is one of two streams of thought and action in the American philanthropic tradition. The other is the grounding of philanthropy in the Constitution. Although the courts have not developed an explicit interpretation of the Constitution that supports the philosophy and practice of philanthropy, one can find an argument for philanthropy in the First Amendment. It is in the First Amendment to the Constitution (the first of the ten amendments known to us as "the Bill of Rights") that freedom of assembly is made a fundamental right. And in the Tenth Amendment, everything that is not explicitly reserved to the federal government is left to the States and "to the people." That is, under American law, the people are free to do as they choose as long as it is not forbidden; so they may assemble and form voluntary associations to engage in the public business with no public mandate.