The White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Photo by Ana Lanza on Unsplash.
Governing, as defined by Oxford Languages, is having authority to conduct the policy, actions, and affairs of a state, organization, or people. But how one goes about governing is another matter. In this Spotlight, Markkula Center staff and scholars analyze the role of compassion in the current presidential administration’s approach.
Perspectives
Governance and the Common Good by Don Heider, executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
The Trump Administration's early days of his second term have leaned towards division and prioritizing private interests over the common good.
Presidents Have a Duty to Care by John Pelissero, a former Loyola University Chicago provost and interim president, and is the former director of government ethics, and Ann Skeet, senior director of leadership ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.
Though much has been written in recent weeks about the hallmarks of the second Trump administration, little has been written about the absence of care—an overarching feature of this presidency’s first months in office.
The Absence of Empathy and the Erosion of Trust by Jill Geisler, the Bill Plante Chair in Leadership and Media Integrity, Loyola University Chicago.
Federal leaders have provided an abundance of flawed leadership, bad management, and questionable ethics in the past few months—decisions and actions that cause short—and long-term harm that’s still being calculated.
Is the World Going to Hell in a Handbasket? If so, our Santa Clara’s Four C’s Might be our Only Hope by Thomas Plante, the Augustin Cardinal Bea, SJ University Professor, professor of psychology and, by courtesy, religious studies at Santa Clara University and an emeritus adjunct professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine. He has been a scholar of the Markkula Center for over 25 years.
It seems that those in power, including our government leaders, act only on self-interest or in ethical terms, egoism, and appear to lack compassion or concern for most anyone outside of their immediate highly privileged circle.
When Misguided Compassion in Politics Endangers both the Greater Good and the Individual by Nancy C. Unger, a professor of history at Santa Clara University and a faculty scholar with the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
Joe Biden’s refusal to relinquish power and the misguided compassion and loyalty that led his inner circle to hide or deny the extent of his diminished physical and mental capacity raises some hard, ethical questions.
Current Economic Policy Seriously Lacking in Compassion by Hersh Shefrin, the Mario L. Belotti Professor of Finance at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business and a faculty scholar at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
The economic policy of our recent presidential administrations—through tariffs, inflationary practice and other actions—has shown a lack of compassion.