Who Really Cares : The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism

by Brooks, Arthur C.

• ISBN13: 9780465008216
• ISBN10: 0465008216
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-11-20
• Publisher: Perseus Books Group

Summary

We all know we should give to charity, but who really does? Approximately three-quarters of Americans give their time and money to various charities, churches, and causes; the other quarter of the population does not. Why has America split into two nations: givers and non-givers? Arthur Brooks, a top scholar of economics and public policy, has spent years researching this trend, and even he was surprised by what he found. InWho Really Cares, he demonstrates conclusively that conservatives really are compassionate-far more compassionate than their liberal foes. Strong families, church attendance, earned income (as opposed to state-subsidized income), and the belief that individuals, not government, offer the best solution to social ills-all of these factors determine how likely one is to give. Charity matters--not just to the givers and to the recipients, but to the nation as a whole. It is crucial to our prosperity, happiness, health, and our ability to govern ourselves as a free people. InWho Really Cares, Brooks outlines strategies for expanding the ranks of givers, for the good of all Americans.

Author Biography

Arthur C. Brooks is Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government Policy at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. The author of Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism, Brooks writes widely about the connections between culture, politics, and economic life in America, and his work appears frequently in the Wall Street Journal and other publications. He is a native of Seattle, Washington, and currently lives in Syracuse, New York, with his wife Ester and their three children.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
James Q. Wilson
Introduction: Charity and Selfishness in America	1	(14)
Is Compassionate Conservatism an Oxymoron?	15	(16)
Faith and Charity	31	(22)
Other People's Money	53	(22)
Income, Welfare, and Charity	75	(22)
Charity Begins at Home	97	(18)
Continental Drift	115	(22)
Charity Makes You Healthy, Happy, and Rich	137	(24)
The Way Forward	161	(24)
Appendix: The Data on Charity and Selfishness	185	(24)
Notes	209	(28)
Acknowledgments	237	(4)
Index	241