As a political doctrine
The doctrine was invented by Dr.
Marvin Olasky, who went on to memorialize it in his books
Renewing American Compassion (1996) and
Compassionate Conservatism: What it is, What it Does, and How it Can Transform America (2000), and
Myron Magnet of the
Manhattan Institute. Olasky has been called the "godfather of compassionate conservatism". The phrase was popularized when
George W. Bush adopted it as one of his key
slogans during
his 2000 presidential campaign against
Al Gore. Bush also wrote the foreword to Olasky's
Compassionate Conservatism.
A compassionate conservative is someone who believes that
conservatism and
compassion complement each other, particularly in opposition to common conservative
party platform planks such as advocating
laissez-faire economic policies. A compassionate conservative might see the social problems of the
United States, such as
healthcare or
immigration, as being issues to which conservatives can find better solutions than their opponents can, partly through cooperation with private companies, charities and religious institutions rather than directly through government departments. As former Bush chief speechwriter
Michael Gerson put it, "Compassionate conservatism is the theory that the government should encourage the effective provision of social services without providing the service itself."
[1]
Magnet and Olasky based their views on the
Christian doctrine of
original sin. Olasky writes: “Man is sinful and likely to want something for nothing. … Man’s sinful nature leads to indolence … appetite and lust and idleness.” (Olasky,
Renewing American Compassion, 64, 41). They assume that poor peoples' sins are the root cause of their
poverty and that, as such, traditional
religion is ultimately the only cure for poverty.
In the words of Magnet,
[2]
“Compassionate conservatives [...] offer a new way of thinking about the poor. They know that telling the poor that they are mere passive victims, whether of racism or of vast economic forces, is not only false but also destructive, paralyzing the poor with thoughts of their own helplessness and inadequacy. The poor need the larger society's moral support; they need to hear the message of personal responsibility and self-reliance, the optimistic assurance that if they try – as they must – they will make it. They need to know, too, that they can't blame "the system" for their own wrongdoing.”
Compassionate conservative philosophy argues for policies in support of traditional
families,
welfare reform to promote individual responsibility (cf.
workfare), active
policing, standards-based schools (cf.
No Child Left Behind Act), and assistance (economic or otherwise) to poor countries around the world.
U.S. president George W. Bush said
[3]:
“"It is compassionate to actively help our citizens in need. It is conservative to insist on accountability and results."”
Bush began his presidency hoping to make compassionate conservatism his centerpiece. After
the attacks on September 11, 2001, he focused less on this theme, but its fundamental ideas became central in his rhetoric about the
War on Terrorism.
[4]
