Who Really Cares

While most Americans make charitable gifts every year, people don’t give at uniform rates—there are vast differences by faith, family structure, political views, geography, and business involvement. For instance, people who worship every week give away three times as much money as those who rarely or never worship, and religious people are twice as likely to volunteer (for secular as well as faith-based causes).

Brooks shows that generosity isn’t just healthy for the nation; it makes the givers happier as well. He cites a host of social science studies demonstrating that charitable Americans are much more likely to be satisfied… show more.

It is personally rewarding to donate your time as a volunteer, no matter what your financial wealth is. But money certainly helps to fund causes in this material world. Brooks’ book shows that compassionate conservatism is an important driving force in America. He shows through extensive survey work that giving money to charity speaks louder than just talking about caring. He argues successfully, that those who are charitable improve life for all of us, and the selfish make us all worse off. Clearly, money can help you achieve true prosperity by helping others with it.