Mad skewers social enterprise--in 1962!

Just like baby boomers think they discovered sex, today's do-gooder revolutionaries believe that they're first to revolutionize charity by making it more business-like. But if you do a little historical digging, you soon realize that social enterprise is just the latest variation on a recurring theme.

Case in point: this article from Mad #72, available on this essential DVD set from NYC's own GIT Corp. The article is response to the then-current trend of remaking charity in the image of commercial business, complete with outcome metrics, efficiency-maximizing strategy and Madison Avenue marketing campaigns.

The earlier movement's most notable effect: the enactment of the public charity/private foundation legal so-called reforms that are the bane of today's social enterprise start-ups. We're headed in a similar direction today, but we could still avoid it--and the the best place to start is by taking humor more seriously as a cultural barometer.