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42 J. Soc. & Soc. Welfare 95 (2015)
Relieving Human Suffering: Compassion in Social Policy

handle is hein.journals/jrlsasw42 and id is 102 raw text is: Relieving Human Suffering: Compassion in Social Policy MARY ELIZABETH COLLINS SARAH GARLNGTON Boston University School of Social Work KATE COONEY Yale University School of Management Human suffering is always present in society. There is general consensus that action should be taken to address suffering, but there are differing views as to the appropriate means of doing so. In this paper we utilize a classical understanding of the virtue of compassion to answer the research question: How does contem- porary U.S. policy address human suffering through compas- sionate response? To answer this question, we conduct a critical analysis of three policy domains (hospice care, domestic violence, and disaster relief) to determine variation in response to human suffering. Comparisons among the domains suggest the various ways in which compassion can be observed within formal social policy. We discuss the implications of a compassion-focused ap- proach to analysis of policies that address human suffering, and more broadly, the use of a virtue-oriented perspective on policy. Key Words: critical policy analysis, compassion, virtue ethics, human suffering Human suffering is always present in society. Although it may take different forms in different historical and societal con- texts, there are elements of suffering even in the most advanced and prosperous societies. Indeed, modern prosperity, while reducing some forms of suffering (e.g., widespread hunger) may engender other types of suffering (e.g., alienation, social Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, March 2015, Volume XLII, Number 1

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