Liberalism's failed ideas, they argue, have not discredited the idea of compassion. They have only discredited liberalism itself. The indices of crime, welfare dependence, and family breakdown have improved in the last few years because we have finally abandoned the ideology that made liberals feel virtuous while undermining the virtues of those who were the recipients of their benefactions. In the name of compassion, conservatives are now restoring a sense of morality to public affairs and to the citizenry. Just as ill-advised social policies have perverted the idea of compassion, so the aggrandized welfare state has perverted the idea of government.
Conservatives are apt to object to the welfare state on the grounds of big government.
In their eagerness to do away with the nanny state, some conservatives risk belittling, even delegitimizing, the state itself. For good government is the precondition of civil society, providing a safe space within which individuals, families, communities, churches, and voluntary associations can effectively function. And this is where compassion and government intersect. Government may not be a natural medium of compassion, but neither is it the enemy of compassion. And at this time, especially, both are necessary for a humane and decent society.