This review of Who Really Cares challenges its central findings about the ideological character of personal contributions of time and money to charitable causes. The analysis is fundamentally flawed in claiming that conservatives give and care more than liberals because it hinges on a definition of caring that excludes collective action efforts through government that liberals tend to support. The review also raises concerns about how the author defines liberalism, and argues that the book misses an opportunity to explore the different ways in which Americans conceive of expressing their concern and why those differences exist.
©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston