Civics, U.S. Politics & Government - 20th Century, Ethics & Moral Philosophy - Theoretical, U.S. Politics & Government - 1992-2001, Liberalism & Conservatism, U.S. Politics - Public Affairs & Administration, Social Sciences - General & Miscellaneous, U.S.
Log in to track your reading progress.
Overview
Compassionate conservatism is a new political force in the land, sweeping the grassroots of people of all faiths, races, and ethnicities. In its parts it offers solutions to many of our most intractable problems; in its whole it is nothing less than an innovative philosophy of government. No author is more qualified to explain its power and promise than Marvin Olasky, described by The New York Times as "the godfather of compassionate conservatism."Compassionate conservatism offers a new paradigm for how the government can and should intervene in the economy. It begins with a long-lost premise about human behavior: economics, by itself, is not what changes lives. Only faith, and deeply held beliefs, can do that. For decades government has focused only on material well-being, ignoring the passions and convictions that make life worth living. What is conservative about the new movement is that its leaders also know that government cannot instill these beliefs. What it can do is help them flourish. It can give aid, inspiration, and direction to America's natural "armies of compassion" that have been a hallmark of our history since the founding.
Compassionate conservatism offers a way to transcend the root problems that currently oppress too many deserving Americans. It offers a unique vision of the triangular relationship between the state, our many churches, and our tens of thousands of charities. It is a true reinvention of welfare, a wholesale revolution in the welfare state, and a redefinition of the social safety net.
In Compassionate Conservatism Marvin Olasky takes us on a road trip with his son, Daniel, across the country, showing exactly how the new movementis unfolding. Along the way, he offers a set of principles, and a brief tour through history to show that these are not so much radically new ideas as rediscoveries of long-lost wisdom. Read this book for a blueprint of the future of politics and welfare in America.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
"Compassionate conservatism" is a phrase used by Texas governor and Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush, but he didn't originate it. Credit for that goes to his advisor Olasky, who, in his 1992 book The Tragedy of American Compassion, proposed that the needs of the poor and uneducated could be better met through the efforts of local, faith-based organizations than through a big, bureaucratic social-welfare machine. As Olasky explains in this manifesto, compassionate conservatism requires looking behind the overt problems of poverty, illiteracy and drug-addiction to address the structures that sustain them--they must "bring civil society back to the inner city." Olasky describes his travels across the country visiting faith-based local groups that have made a difference. The centerpiece of his tour is Indianapolis, where a coalition of churches, businesses and civic organizations has developed partnerships to transform inner-city neighborhoods block by block. Olasky, who edits the Christian news magazine World, argues that faith is an essential part of the process (and to those who object, he responds that the words "separation of church and state" do not appear in the First Amendment). He even proposes the creation of a White House office of advocacy for faith-based organizations imbued with "the rock-like faith of someone who believes that Christ changes lives." His partisan and sure-to-be-controversial primer opens with a foreword by Bush and closes with Bush's July 1999 speech defining compassionate conservatism, in which he promised, if elected president, to allow religious, as well as nonsectarian, groups to compete to provide services on federal, state and local levels. (July) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|Library Journal
According to Olasky, religious policy adviser to George W. Bush and author of The American Leadership Tradition, compassionate conservatism is much more than an amorphous campaign slogan: it is a comprehensive plan of charitable and government funding for faith-based organizations that are experiencing some success at helping the urban and rural poor. Olasky and his son Daniel traveled through Texas and to Indianapolis, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC, to meet with leaders who are relying on prayer and the teaching of practical skills to try to turn around the lives of desperate people in their communities. For instance, Steve Goldsmith, the former mayor of Indianapolis, is praised for providing municipal funding to the Front Porch Alliance, a network of faith-based institutions struggling to provide spiritual and economic support with limited resources. The author faults liberal policies for failing to help the needy and makes a fair case for expanding government support to these small-scale successes. He will not, however, win over many liberals or moderates, who are aware that charitable organizations failed to reach large numbers of the poor before the New Deal, the Great Society, and specific programs such as Head Start and Aid to Families with Dependent Children came into being. Recommended for public libraries.--Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\Kirkus Reviews
A founder of the "compassionate conservatism" movement, Olasky (God, Sex, and Statesmanship, 1999) lays out a program to attack poverty without compromising conservative principles. As part of his research, Olasky toured the country, visiting programs that do or don't meet his standards of compassionate conservatism. Invariably, those that do are community-based and run by locals. Here the poor receive counseling, training, and recreation—but the emphasis is on work or school. There is no entitlement: simply being hungry, jobless, or homeless will get you the door at such institutions. Once inside, everyone must behave, accept responsibility, work reliably, and remain free of drugs and alcohol—or face a quick expulsion. Olasky lays particular emphasis upon the value of religion as a means of social and moral advancement, and many of the programs he admires stress religious commitment and strict moral codes. There is an undercurrent of tension, however, between the expectations of sectarian organizations such as these and the larger secular society within which they operate. In particular, there is considerable resentment of the government's refusal to fund (or, conversely, its attempts to direct) religious charities. Olasky quotes one such agency leader responding to a grant offer: "If I take this money and hire a housing director, I will hire a Christian and expect a certain standard of behavior. If the director has sex outside of marriage, I will fire him immediately." She doesn't get the grant. Nonbelievers may well take umbrage at such attitudes, but Olasky maintains that it is precisely such self-assurance that brings success—in marked contrast tothedismal track-record of the public agencies. A thoughtful, if controversial, analysis that should be considered by everyone concerned with the plight of the poor.Book Details
Published
July 24, 2000
Publisher
New York : Free Press, c2000.
Pages
240
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780743201315