Compassionate Conservatism: What It Is, What It Does, and How It Can Transform America - Hardcover

Olasky, Marvin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0743201310 ISBN 13: 9780743201315

Publisher: Free Press, 2000

Synopsis

From the "godfather of compassionate conservatism" and an influential advisor to presidential hopeful George W. Bush comes a definitive, thought-provoking blueprint of Bush's philosophy of government, one that argues that religious faith is essential to promote welfare programs.

About this title

About the Author

Marvin Olasky is Professor of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and a Senior Fellow at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty. He is the author of more than a dozen books of history and policy analysis, and the editor of World, a weekly news magazine from a Christian perspective. He has been an adviser to George Bush since 1993.

Reviews

"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 themAthey 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 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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 to the dismal track-record of the public agencies. A thoughtful, if controversial, analysis that should be considered by everyone concerned with the plight of the poor. -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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.DKarl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Free Press
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0743201310
• ISBN 13: 9780743201315
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240