If a measure of our humanity is how we treat the most vulnerable, our report card is bleak. Our politics is divided, people in need are too often treated with cruelty, and the systems we built to support others are creaking. Welfare too often fails, sometimes with tragic consequences.

Yet, the help we give to others can be more effective, more accepted, and more just if we cultivate greater levels of compassion to put it at the heart of public life and potentially resolve these challenges. In this book, Jason Wood reviews the research and talks to experts from across the world to make the moving case for greater compassion in public life.

1. Introduction

2. The Birth of the Welfare State

3. The Right Strikes Back

4. Welfare is Failing

5. What is Compassion?

6. Are We Compassionate?

7. The Benefits of Compassion

8. The Economic Case

9. Designing Compassionate Institutions

10. Leading with Compassion

11. Conclusion