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These days I do a lot of traveling, and I usually drive my car. I have spent a lot of time listening to AM talk radio. When I can no longer stand the anger, innuendo, and righteousness, I switch from sports to politics. Read More
Politics and Religion
You only have the thesis partially correct. Brooks does not claim that conservatives are more generous than liberals, he shows that religious people of any political stripe are more generous than secular people.
Liberal believers are much more generous than atheist conservatives. Religious people do happen to be more conservative in aggregate. So the confusion.
Making secular people aware of the disparity would unfortunately have little impact on their behavior. The cognitive dissonance would too greatly disturb their self-appraisal of moral superiority. The Manhattan - Boston axis of elite snobbery would be paralyzed.
Besides, smarmy attacks on the hoi-polloi over drinks at the faculty club are just too much fun.
Charity does not equal compassion
To equate private charity and volunteer work with compassion is a priori a value-laden idea. Conservative ideology in the US often promotes voluntarism and private charity as a substitute for government-funded programs of all kinds.
However, compassion may also be found in the liberal ideology of that government should take care of society's more vulnerable members.
Drowning in Dissonance
Re: “Charity does not equal compassion”
Uh, well then what does it represent? (See my comment about cognitive dissonance above.) Conservatives will support government programs that work AND also contribute privately. E.g., it is a private contributions to inner-city Catholic schools that allow many non-Catholic inner-city kids to be properly educated. If liberals are enamored with government solutions, why don't they similarly augment the taxes they pay as a sign of their commitment?
Moreover, religious people are more generous in totally apolitical ways like donating blood. I suppose the liberal equivalent would be something like carbon offsets. I.e., allowing gas bags like Al Gore to spew carbon from private jets and stately mansions. All the while feeling good about themselves.
Self-righteousness
Yes, conservatives give more to private charities because they are more skeptical of government, but they do not support legislation that is better for us. Private charities are great but like goverbnment they have their limitations. Just because conservatives use private charities as their tool to alleviate poverty but they are morre smug and self-righteous about it. Self-righteous conservatives are jiust annoying as self-righteous liberals.
I Don't Get It
Re: "Just because conservatives use private charities as their tool to alleviate poverty but they are morre smug and self-righteous about it."
Are you sure? Perhaps you should visit a church run soup kitchen kitchen or homeless shelter or one of the inner city Catholic schools to evaluate the level of "smugness" suffusing the volunteers.
BTW, so liberals who DON'T donate to private charity and are smug and self-righteous about it have superior moral sensibilities?
comity
I posted this blog entry because the data are interesting - indeed, provocative. But I hope we can all be intellectually provoked and nothing more.
Chris Peterson
I would hope that your hope
I would hope that your hope when posting this, would exceed just "giving people something to think about."
Thanks
Regardless, thanks for the post. Had never heard of the book, nor the research.
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