http://journals.cambridge.org Downloaded: 10 Nov 2011 IP address: 113.162.160.1 Jnl Soc. Pol.: page 1 of 19 C  Cambridge University Press 2011 doi:10.1017/S004727941100078X Compassion in Contemporary Social Policy: Applications of Virtue Theory MARY ELIZABETH COLLINS * , KATE COONEY ** and SARAH GARLINGTON *** ∗ Boston University School of Social Work, 264 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215, USA email: mcollins@bu.edu ∗∗ Boston University School of Social Work, 264 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215, USA email: kcooney@bu.edu ∗∗∗ Boston University School of Social Work, 264 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215, USA email: sgarling@bu.edu Abstract Current academic debate in the social sciences and humanities is revisiting the role of virtue in civic life. This debate is relevant to social policy. We argue that virtue is already an implicit component of policy debates, but that the virtue of compassion has not received sufficient emphasis. To support our argument we review classical and contemporary arguments regarding virtue and its linkage to the ‘good society’; articulate the necessity of compassion and its application to specific policies areas (e.g., domestic violence, welfare, emergency care); and assess how compassion intersects with other virtues in the policy environment. Policy implications are identified including: recognition of the realities of suffering, the need for sufficient administrative infrastructure and trained professionals and an often long-term commitment to work in community settings. Weighing the risks, and the overall challenges of virtuous action, our analysis suggests compassion remains a compelling, yet under-utilised, basis for constructing and implementing policies. Introduction Several examples suggest that virtues are embedded in social policies. Countries such as Northern Ireland and South Africa, emerging from long-standing division, have instituted reconciliation procedures and inculcated mechanisms of the virtue of ‘forgiveness’ into social policy (Gibson, 2006). For the last two decades, the virtue of ‘self-sufficiency’ has been underlying US welfare policies (Lipset, 1996). In 2009, the Scottish government released the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing on ‘compassionate’ grounds – a controversial action, but one presumably consistent with Scotland’s criminal justice policy. These examples suggest that virtue can be a foundation of policy; they do not suggest that it is easy or popular. The implications require further scrutiny, and thus, by placing virtue at the centre of study of policy, greater insight regarding its utility might be gained.