This is what makes compassionate conservatism so important. Conservatism is enjoying a revival in these tough economic times because when household and national budgets are tight, voters cannot afford expensive left-wing policies. But economic troubles will pass, and for conservatism to flourish it needs to be competitive on the values issues that motivate wealthier electorates. 

The first leading conservative politician to understand this was George W. Bush. He did many things right but he also brought compassionate conservatism into disrepute in the eyes of many American Republicans. David Cameron is attempting the most interesting second definition of compassionate conservatism. His attempt has many advantages. He has observed what went wrong under Bush. He leans on the enormous work of Iain Duncan Smith and the Centre for Social Justice. But Cameron's chances of success are complicated by the cuts he is having to make to Britain's state and by the likelihood that his junior coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats, will claim that they were the decisive reason for the most compassionate things that happen in the next few years.

Taking a step back for a moment, let's examine the two ambitious aims of compassionate conservatism. The first is to redefine conservatism and the second, even bolder aim is to redefine compassion itself.

Some conservatives object to the very notion of compassionate conservatism, regarding it as tautological. And it's true that conservatism in both Britain and America already has a good record of helping the disadvantaged. In America, the zero tolerance policing of Rudy Giuliani did more to improve the lot of New York's poor than any Democrat mayor that had gone before him — and it was all done without a compassionate label. Margaret Thatcher's sale of council houses gave millions of working-class people ownership and control over their lives. Her school, local government and union reforms also transferred power from the elites to the people.