One of the things I learned quickly, living in the Bay Area, is the power of
giving a crap. You're completely right! Empathy and sympathy, translated effectively into policy, can and do work wonders. You're not going to get these things where people
don't care.
That said, there's a potential wrinkle. Empathy, sympathy, and compassion may be necessary but are not sufficient for effective policy. The idea that empathy compels people to find effective policy is incredibly attractive. Who doesn't want to do good? Who doesn't want to help the helpless, who so clearly deserve aid? Who doesn't want to believe that a blossoming of pure intent will help?
Empathy compels us! Compassion compels us! We are moved to act, and we must!
Yet, it's not enough. More than one pure-hearted program in the past has gone awry. Wasted limited funds or political capital. In some cases, gone so awry as to make things worse.
You're absolutely, completely, 100% right. We need to care!. We should think carefully about if giving a crap is sufficient. If it was, I would anticipate that San Francisco's very expensively given craps would have gotten the homeless off the streets by now.
That said, there's a potential wrinkle. Empathy, sympathy, and compassion may be necessary but are not sufficient for effective policy. The idea that empathy compels people to find effective policy is incredibly attractive. Who doesn't want to do good? Who doesn't want to help the helpless, who so clearly deserve aid? Who doesn't want to believe that a blossoming of pure intent will help?
Empathy compels us! Compassion compels us! We are moved to act, and we must!
Yet, it's not enough. More than one pure-hearted program in the past has gone awry. Wasted limited funds or political capital. In some cases, gone so awry as to make things worse.
You're absolutely, completely, 100% right. We need to care!. We should think carefully about if giving a crap is sufficient. If it was, I would anticipate that San Francisco's very expensively given craps would have gotten the homeless off the streets by now.