The Tragedy of American CompassionThis is a book of hope at a time when just about everyone but Marvin Olasky has lost hope. The topic is poverty and the underclass. The profound truth that Marvin Olasky forces us to confront is that the problems of the underclass are not caused by poverty. Some of them are exacerbated by poverty, but we know that they need not be caused by poverty, for poverty has been the condition of the vast majority of human communities since the dawn of history, and they have for the most part been communities of stable families, nurtured children, and low crime. It is wrong to think that writing checks will end the problems of the underclass, or even reduce them. - Preface. |
Contents
THE EARLY AMERICAN MODEL OF COMPASSION | 6 |
TURNING CITIES INTO COUNTRYSIDE | 24 |
FIRST CHALLENGE TO THE CHARITY CONSENSUS | 42 |
THE SOCIAL DARWINIST THREAT | 60 |
PROVING SOCIAL DARWINISM WRONG | 80 |
THE SEVEN MARKS OF COMPASSION | 99 |
AND WHY NOT DO MORE? | 116 |
EXCITEMENT OF A NEW CENTURY | 134 |
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