Compassionate conservatism
Encyclopedia
Compassionate Conservatism is a political philosophy
that stresses using traditionally conservative techniques and concepts in order to improve the general welfare of society. The term itself is often credited to U.S. historian and politician Doug Wead
who used it as the title of a speech in 1979. This label and philosophy has been espoused by U.S. Republican
and Democratic
politicians since then though in recent times it has been strongly associated with former U.S. President George W. Bush
who commonly used the term to describe his personal views. This philosophy has also been espoused in the United Kingdom by British Prime Minister David Cameron
.
may have been the first person to use the phrase compassionate conservative. In 1977, Wead wrote a book about Kolkata
, India
, entitled The Compassionate Touch. In 1979, he gave a popular speech entitled “The Compassionate Conservative” at the annual Washington Charity Dinner. Tapes of the speech were sold across the country at corporate seminars.
Wead contended that the policies of Republican conservatives should be motivated by compassion, not protecting the status quo. And Wead declared himself to be “a bleeding heart conservative,” meaning that he cared for people and sincerely believed that a free marketplace was better for the poor.
In 1981, in a perhaps-unrelated usage, Vernon Jordan of the National Urban League
said, of the Reagan administration
,
In 1982, Wead co-authored with Ronald Reagan
's Secretary of the Interior, James G. Watt
, the book The Courage of a Conservative and developed his ideas further in chapter five of the book, which was entitled “The Compassionate Conservative.”
In 1984, U.S. Representative James Robert Jones
(D
-OK
) told the New York Times:
Earlier the same year Republican Ray Shamie
proclaimed that "I believe in a visionary and compassionate conservatism"
In June, 1986, Wead wrote an article for the Christian Herald, describing then-vice-president George H. W. Bush
, to whom he served as an aide, as a “compassionate conservative.”
According to journalist Jacob Weisberg
, George W. Bush
, George H. W. Bush's son, first picked up the term "compassionate conservative" from Wead, in 1987.
In 1992, when Doug Wead ran for U.S. Representative from Arizona
, he wrote a campaign book entitled Time for a Change. The first chapter was called “The Compassionate Conservative” and outlined Wead’s philosophy that the masses didn’t care if Republican
policies worked if the attitude and purpose behind the policies were uncaring.
Some insist 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. Olasky said others had come up with the term first.
and compassion
complement each other. A compassionate conservative might see the social problems of the United States
, such as health care
or immigration
, as issues that are better solved 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."
Magnet and Olasky said 19th century compassionate conservatism was based in part on the Christian
doctrine of original sin
, which held that “Man is sinful and likely to want something for nothing. … Man’s sinful nature leads to indolence.” (Olasky, Renewing American Compassion, 64, 41).
In the words of Magnet,
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:
Bush began his presidency hoping to make compassionate conservatism his centerpiece. After the September 11, 2001 attacks
, he focused less on this theme, but, according to professor and author Ira Chernus
, its fundamental ideas became central in his rhetoric about the War on Terrorism
.
have criticized the phrase "compassionate conservatism" as simply sugarcoating; an empty phrase or vacuism to make traditional conservatism sound more appealing to moderate voters. Liberal commentator Joe Conason
, noting Bush's policy of tax cuts, wrote in 2003 that "so far, being a 'compassionate conservative' appears to mean nothing very different from being a hardhearted, stingy, old-fashioned conservative." Similarly, former President Bill Clinton
described the message of compassionate conservatism as: "I want to help you. I really do. But you know, I just can't" or similar variants.
Others on the left have viewed it as an effort to remove America's social safety net out of the hands of the government and give it to Christian churches. "Liberals make a big mistake if they dismiss 'compassionate conservatism' as just a hypocritical catch phrase," wrote University of Colorado
religion professor Ira Chernus. "For the right, it is a serious scheme to give tax dollars to churches through so-called 'faith-based initiatives.'" Keynesian
economist and columnist Paul Krugman
has called it a bone to the religious right, referencing Marvin Olasky's 'The Tragedy of American Compassion'. Krugman endorses Digby's analysis that right-wing compassionate 'charity' assumes that the giver has the right to investigate and dictate the life of the receiver, even for the smallest charity.
Conversely, the policy has also been attacked from the right: commentator Herman Cain
criticized compassionate conservatism as leading to the Bush administration's increased government spending, saying that it "completely betrayed conservative voters and their decades of grassroots activism," and "alienated the party's conservative base," noting Bush policies such as the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act
, which increased the size of the Medicare
program by around $500 billion. Conservative commentator Jonah Goldberg
has written that compassionate conservatism as implemented by George W. Bush differs markedly from the theoretical policy concept. He wrote: "...most conservatives never really understood what compassionate conservatism was, beyond a convenient marketing slogan to attract swing voters. The reality—as even some members of the Bush team will sheepishly concede—is that there was nothing behind the curtain. Sure, in the hands of Marvin Olasky and others, compassionate conservatism had some heft. But Karl Rove
's translation of it into a political platform made it into a pseudo-intellectual rationale for constituent-pleasing and Nixonian 'modern Republicanism.'" Similarly, conservative commentator Fred Barnes
has described Bush's version of conservatism as "big-government conservatism".
Comedian Robin Williams
has regularly described compassionate conservatism as sounding like "a Volvo with a gunrack."
's Conservative Party
, under the current Prime Minister
David Cameron
. Due to Cameron's leadership, many concerns such as Environmentalism and Social Justice, which had hitherto been associated with social democratic
, liberal
and environmental
movements, have been more particularly focused on by British Conservatism and sharply accentuated as a part of its ideological narrative and public policy image. This has occurred in concert with a playing down of tradition
al Tory opposition to immigration and European integration, and support for Grammar schools and lower taxes.
The U.K. form of compassionate conservatism is less explicitly associated with Christianity
than its U.S. cousin, although it has incorporated a concern for social and family breakdown into the Cameronian emphasis on Social Justice, informed by groups such as the Conservative Christian Fellowship
, and the Centre for Social Justice
headed by the Catholic MP and former Tory Leader, Iain Duncan Smith
. The research by the latter, such as its reports 'Breakdown Britain' and 'Breakthrough Britain', has coincided with noted policy commitments by the Conservative Party to provide incentives for marriage, and proposals to discourage divorce and extra-marital cohabitation, as a means of encouraging social stability.
Political philosophy
Political philosophy is the study of such topics as liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it...
that stresses using traditionally conservative techniques and concepts in order to improve the general welfare of society. The term itself is often credited to U.S. historian and politician Doug Wead
Doug Wead
Doug Wead is a presidential historian, philanthropist and public speaker. He was Special Assistant to U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and is the author of more than thirty books, including the New York Times best-seller All the Presidents’ Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of the First...
who used it as the title of a speech in 1979. This label and philosophy has been espoused by U.S. Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politicians since then though in recent times it has been strongly associated with former U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
who commonly used the term to describe his personal views. This philosophy has also been espoused in the United Kingdom by British Prime Minister David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
.
Origins of the term
Historian and presidential advisor Doug WeadDoug Wead
Doug Wead is a presidential historian, philanthropist and public speaker. He was Special Assistant to U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and is the author of more than thirty books, including the New York Times best-seller All the Presidents’ Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of the First...
may have been the first person to use the phrase compassionate conservative. In 1977, Wead wrote a book about Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, entitled The Compassionate Touch. In 1979, he gave a popular speech entitled “The Compassionate Conservative” at the annual Washington Charity Dinner. Tapes of the speech were sold across the country at corporate seminars.
Wead contended that the policies of Republican conservatives should be motivated by compassion, not protecting the status quo. And Wead declared himself to be “a bleeding heart conservative,” meaning that he cared for people and sincerely believed that a free marketplace was better for the poor.
In 1981, in a perhaps-unrelated usage, Vernon Jordan of the National Urban League
National Urban League
The National Urban League , formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of African Americans and against racial discrimination in the United States. It is the oldest and largest...
said, of the Reagan administration
Reagan Administration
The United States presidency of Ronald Reagan, also known as the Reagan administration, was a Republican administration headed by Ronald Reagan from January 20, 1981, to January 20, 1989....
,
In 1982, Wead co-authored with Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's Secretary of the Interior, James G. Watt
James G. Watt
James Gaius Watt served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior for President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1983.-Early life and career:...
, the book The Courage of a Conservative and developed his ideas further in chapter five of the book, which was entitled “The Compassionate Conservative.”
In 1984, U.S. Representative James Robert Jones
James Robert Jones
James Robert "Jim" Jones is a lawyer, a Democratic politician, a retired U.S. Congressman from Oklahoma, and a former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico....
(D
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-OK
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
) told the New York Times:
Earlier the same year Republican Ray Shamie
Ray Shamie
Raymond Shamie was an American politician from the state of Massachusetts. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was twice a Massachusetts Republican nominee for the United States Senate, and served as the chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party from 1987 to 1991.In 1982, Shamie, a millionaire...
proclaimed that "I believe in a visionary and compassionate conservatism"
In June, 1986, Wead wrote an article for the Christian Herald, describing then-vice-president George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, to whom he served as an aide, as a “compassionate conservative.”
According to journalist Jacob Weisberg
Jacob Weisberg
Jacob Weisberg is an American political journalist, serving as editor-in-chief of Slate Group, a division of The Washington Post Company. Weisberg is also a Newsweek columnist. He served as the editor of Slate magazine for six years, until stepping down in June 2008...
, George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, George H. W. Bush's son, first picked up the term "compassionate conservative" from Wead, in 1987.
In 1992, when Doug Wead ran for U.S. Representative from Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, he wrote a campaign book entitled Time for a Change. The first chapter was called “The Compassionate Conservative” and outlined Wead’s philosophy that the masses didn’t care if Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
policies worked if the attitude and purpose behind the policies were uncaring.
Some insist the doctrine was invented by Dr. Marvin Olasky
Marvin Olasky
Marvin Olasky is editor-in-chief of WORLD Magazine, the author of more than 20 books, including The Tragedy of American Compassion, and Distinguished Chair in Journalism and Public Policy at Patrick Henry College...
, 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
Myron Magnet
Myron Magnet was the editor of City Journal from 1994 through 2007 and is now the magazine's Editor-at-Large. The Manhattan Institute's quarterly journal of urban affairs, City Journal focuses on endemic urban dilemmas such as welfare, housing, taxes, and crime from a free-market, conservative...
of the Manhattan Institute
Manhattan Institute
The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research is a conservative, market-oriented think tank established in New York City in 1978 by Antony Fisher and William J...
. Olasky has been called the "godfather of compassionate conservatism". The phrase was popularized when George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
adopted it as one of his key slogans during his 2000 presidential campaign
George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2000
This article is about the 2000 presidential campaign of George W. Bush, winner of the 2000 presidential election and re-elected in the 2004 election.See George W. Bush for a detailed biography and information about his presidency, and George W...
against Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
. Bush also wrote the foreword to Olasky's Compassionate Conservatism. Olasky said others had come up with the term first.
As a political doctrine
Compassionate conservatism has been defined as the belief that conservatismConservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
and compassion
Compassion
Compassion is a virtue — one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection and humanism — foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.There is an aspect of...
complement each other. A compassionate conservative might see the social problems of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, such as health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
or immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
, as issues that are better solved through cooperation with private companies, charities and religious institutions rather than directly through government departments. As former Bush chief speechwriter Michael Gerson
Michael Gerson
Michael John Gerson is an op-ed columnist for The Washington Post, a Policy Fellow with the ONE Campaign, and a former senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He served as President George W...
put it, "Compassionate conservatism is the theory that the government should encourage the effective provision of social services without providing the service itself."
Magnet and Olasky said 19th century compassionate conservatism was based in part on the Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
doctrine of original sin
Original sin
Original sin is, according to a Christian theological doctrine, humanity's state of sin resulting from the Fall of Man. This condition has been characterized in many ways, ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt, referred...
, which held that “Man is sinful and likely to want something for nothing. … Man’s sinful nature leads to indolence.” (Olasky, Renewing American Compassion, 64, 41).
In the words of Magnet,
Compassionate conservative philosophy argues for policies in support of traditional families
Nuclear family
Nuclear family is a term used to define a family group consisting of a father and mother and their children. This is in contrast to the smaller single-parent family, and to the larger extended family. Nuclear families typically center on a married couple, but not always; the nuclear family may have...
, welfare reform
Welfare reform
Welfare reform refers to the process of reforming the framework of social security and welfare provisions, but what is considered reform is a matter of opinion. The term was used in the United States to support the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act...
to promote individual responsibility (cf. workfare
Workfare
Workfare is an alternative model to conventional social welfare systems. The term was first introduced by civil rights leader James Charles Evers in 1968; however, it was popularized by Richard Nixon in a televised speech August 1969...
), active policing, standards-based schools (cf. No Child Left Behind Act
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the education of children in public schools.NCLB was originally proposed by the administration of George W. Bush immediately after he took office...
), and assistance (economic or otherwise) to poor countries around the world.
U.S. president George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
said:
Bush began his presidency hoping to make compassionate conservatism his centerpiece. After the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, he focused less on this theme, but, according to professor and author Ira Chernus
Ira Chernus
Ira Chernus is a journalist, author, and Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He received his Ph.D. in Religion from Temple University, specializing in the history of rabbinic Judaism. His academic writing now focuses on the foreign policy of US presidents. He has...
, its fundamental ideas became central in his rhetoric about the War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
.
Criticism
Some critics of George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
have criticized the phrase "compassionate conservatism" as simply sugarcoating; an empty phrase or vacuism to make traditional conservatism sound more appealing to moderate voters. Liberal commentator Joe Conason
Joe Conason
Joe Conason is an American journalist, author and political commentator. He writes a column for the weekly New York Observer newspaper, for Salon.com and has written a number of books, including Big Lies , which addresses what he says are myths spread about liberals by conservatives.-Life and...
, noting Bush's policy of tax cuts, wrote in 2003 that "so far, being a 'compassionate conservative' appears to mean nothing very different from being a hardhearted, stingy, old-fashioned conservative." Similarly, former President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
described the message of compassionate conservatism as: "I want to help you. I really do. But you know, I just can't" or similar variants.
Others on the left have viewed it as an effort to remove America's social safety net out of the hands of the government and give it to Christian churches. "Liberals make a big mistake if they dismiss 'compassionate conservatism' as just a hypocritical catch phrase," wrote University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
religion professor Ira Chernus. "For the right, it is a serious scheme to give tax dollars to churches through so-called 'faith-based initiatives.'" Keynesian
Keynesian economics
Keynesian economics is a school of macroeconomic thought based on the ideas of 20th-century English economist John Maynard Keynes.Keynesian economics argues that private sector decisions sometimes lead to inefficient macroeconomic outcomes and, therefore, advocates active policy responses by the...
economist and columnist Paul Krugman
Paul Krugman
Paul Robin Krugman is an American economist, professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics, and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times...
has called it a bone to the religious right, referencing Marvin Olasky's 'The Tragedy of American Compassion'. Krugman endorses Digby's analysis that right-wing compassionate 'charity' assumes that the giver has the right to investigate and dictate the life of the receiver, even for the smallest charity.
Conversely, the policy has also been attacked from the right: commentator Herman Cain
Herman Cain
Herman Cain is a candidate for the 2012 U.S. Republican Party presidential nomination.Cain has a background as a business executive, syndicated columnist, and radio host from Georgia. He served as chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza from 1986 to 1996...
criticized compassionate conservatism as leading to the Bush administration's increased government spending, saying that it "completely betrayed conservative voters and their decades of grassroots activism," and "alienated the party's conservative base," noting Bush policies such as the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act
Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act
The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act is a federal law of the United States, enacted in 2003. It produced the largest overhaul of Medicare in the public health program's 38-year history.The MMA was signed by President George W...
, which increased the size of the Medicare
Medicare (United States)
Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other...
program by around $500 billion. Conservative commentator Jonah Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Jonah Jacob Goldberg is an American conservative syndicated columnist and author. Goldberg is known for his contributions on politics and culture to , of which he is editor-at-large...
has written that compassionate conservatism as implemented by George W. Bush differs markedly from the theoretical policy concept. He wrote: "...most conservatives never really understood what compassionate conservatism was, beyond a convenient marketing slogan to attract swing voters. The reality—as even some members of the Bush team will sheepishly concede—is that there was nothing behind the curtain. Sure, in the hands of Marvin Olasky and others, compassionate conservatism had some heft. But Karl Rove
Karl Rove
Karl Christian Rove was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush until Rove's resignation on August 31, 2007. He has headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives...
's translation of it into a political platform made it into a pseudo-intellectual rationale for constituent-pleasing and Nixonian 'modern Republicanism.'" Similarly, conservative commentator Fred Barnes
Fred Barnes (journalist)
Frederic W. Barnes is an American political commentator. He is the executive editor of the news publication The Weekly Standard and regularly appears on the Fox News Channel program Special Report with Bret Baier...
has described Bush's version of conservatism as "big-government conservatism".
Comedian Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
has regularly described compassionate conservatism as sounding like "a Volvo with a gunrack."
In the United Kingdom
Recently, the term has been used to describe the policies and image associated with the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, under the current Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
. Due to Cameron's leadership, many concerns such as Environmentalism and Social Justice, which had hitherto been associated with social democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
, liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and environmental
Green politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
movements, have been more particularly focused on by British Conservatism and sharply accentuated as a part of its ideological narrative and public policy image. This has occurred in concert with a playing down of tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
al Tory opposition to immigration and European integration, and support for Grammar schools and lower taxes.
The U.K. form of compassionate conservatism is less explicitly associated with Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
than its U.S. cousin, although it has incorporated a concern for social and family breakdown into the Cameronian emphasis on Social Justice, informed by groups such as the Conservative Christian Fellowship
Conservative Christian Fellowship
The Conservative Christian Fellowship is an organisation allied with the British Conservative Party, established in 1990 by Tim Montgomerie and Conservative MP David Burrowes whilst they were students at Exeter University....
, and the Centre for Social Justice
Centre for Social Justice
The Centre for Social Justice is an independent, not-for-profit thinktank set up by the Rt. Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP, to advance the education of the public in the subject of social justice and to promote the role of the voluntary sector...
headed by the Catholic MP and former Tory Leader, Iain Duncan Smith
Iain Duncan Smith
George Iain Duncan Smith is a British Conservative politician. He is currently the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and was previously leader of the Conservative Party from September 2001 to October 2003...
. The research by the latter, such as its reports 'Breakdown Britain' and 'Breakthrough Britain', has coincided with noted policy commitments by the Conservative Party to provide incentives for marriage, and proposals to discourage divorce and extra-marital cohabitation, as a means of encouraging social stability.