December 2006

Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism

What forces really influence altruistic donation? Why is America split over giving, and does this dichotomy matter? What can be done to increase giving? In his new book Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism, Arthur C. Brooks, a scholar of economics and public policy and director of the Nonprofit Studies Program at Syracuse University, explores the reasons why some people are charitable and others are not. Brooks and a panel of philanthropy scholars explored the demographics of giving and evaluated the importance of charitable donations to American society at a December 5 AEI book forum.

Arthur C. Brooks
Syracuse University

Citizens of the United States annually donate $260 billion to private charity organizations. Nearly 75 percent of U.S. households donate money, resources, or time each year. Why is it that the other 25 percent, nearly 30 million Americans, do not give to charity?

There are three cultural values that best predict charitable giving. The first is religious participation. Research shows 91 percent of people who identify themselves as religious are likely to give to charity, as opposed to 66 percent of people who do not identify themselves as religious. The religious giving sector is just as likely to give to secular programs as it is to religious causes. The second cultural value is the view of government’s role in income and wealth redistribution, specifically taxes, and how government money is spent on social welfare programs. Those who think government should do more to redistribute income are less likely to give to charitable causes. Those who believe the government has less of a role to play in income redistribution tend to give more. The third value is the structure of the family. Those who couple and raise children are more likely to give philanthropically than those who do not. The more children there are in a family, the more likely that a family will donate to charity. Within these three cultural values, both ideological conservatives and liberals are likely to give. However, conservatives give more, despite having incomes that are on average 6 percent lower.

There are several benefits to philanthropic giving. There are increases in citizen participation, personal satisfaction in life, physical health, personal prosperity, overall economic growth, and community strength. There are three policy reforms that will allow giving to continue to positively affect our society: First, philanthropic giving should not be crowded out by government programs, and public policies that suppress charitable giving must be changed. Second, giving must be taught in families, churches, and schools. Finally, the secular Left must be fundamentally transformed to reflect a culture of philanthropy.

Alan J. Abramson
Aspen Institute

There is not enough data (or understanding of the data that does exist) to sufficiently analyze how much is given to charitable causes. That data that does exist is soft and often out of date. Once religious giving is removed from Brooks’s calculations, there is not much left. Even church tithing is “club-like” in that it goes toward upkeep and salaries and not necessarily to areas of society that need it. There is also competition. As government crowds out philanthropic needs, giving often moves out. There is a conflict of cultures: the culture of big philanthropy and little government versus the culture of big government and little philanthropy. To halt this competition, government must establish mediating structures that support charitable giving, giving government dollars and philanthropic dollars the opportunity to work together.

Adam Meyerson
Philanthropy Roundtable

The charitable divide is between religious and secular giving. However, there is a failure on the part of secular conservatives to establish a culture of philanthropy, and this reflects a weakness in current conservative ideology. A strong conservative philanthropic tradition must be reinforced on the secular side. The United States has the strongest connection between religion and giving. It is the most capitalist of all nations. It possesses a positive entrepreneurial spirit. All three of these characteristics lay the groundwork for charitable giving. When philanthropic giving is coupled with rule of law and other institutions of a free society, the environment for economic growth is fertile.

Those who give--including the poor--do not have a “victim mentality.” They possess an ethic of service. Donors must be stewards of their resources, and philanthropic giving is one way to achieve this. It is important to remember that charity is only one aspect of caring for others. Public servants, health researchers, and even businesses that develop wealth and jobs demonstrate care and love for others within society.

Kimon H. Sargeant
John Templeton Foundation

Moral philosophy plays more of a role in determining one’s charitable giving than economic status. The main reason people give is because they are asked to. Often religious people give to their churches because they feel a responsibility to tithe and support the church. Solicitation of support is also translated to the secular community, as clubs and networks solicit giving. Compared with other advanced societies, America is much more charitable. This may result from the idea that those who give will reap the benefits of their giving.

AEI intern Andrew Roozeboom prepared this summary.