Fusionism

Not to be confused with Electoral fusion.

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Fusionism is an American political term for the combination or "fusion" of traditional conservatives with some libertarians and some social conservatives, forming the American conservative movement.^{[citation needed]} The phiolosophy is most closely associayed with Frank Meyer.

History and positions

The strategy was advocated and named "fusionism" by National Review editor Frank Meyer, who believed that the holders of various disparate conservative and libertarian beliefs should work together to combat the threats of Cold War communism, increasing government power domestically, and what was seen as a decline in civil society (especially during the Great Society era of the mid-1960s). The three basic precepts of fusionism are these: 1) American foreign policy should seek to end totalitarian regimes; 2) the domestic functions of government, and especially of the federal government, should be strictly limited; and 3) the moral precepts traditionally associated with Christianity (sometimes the formulation includes Judaism as well) should be upheld.

Fusionism saw its height during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, who had brought together the divided factions after Gerald Ford's loss in the 1976 election. Rich Lowry has argued that Reagan maintained a fusionist 'sweet spot' of both ideological flexibility and respect for conservative principles. In the immediate aftermath of the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994, fusionism was also at its height. The social conservative element of the Republican Party was seen on the ascent (at least with respect to domestic politics) during the reign of George W Bush. Increased spending angered traditional conservatives, fiscal conservatives, and libertarians. In addition, the long standing tensions between neoconservatives and paleoconservatives bubbled over in the wake of the Iraq War.

Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan said during a June 2009 the Hudson Institute conference speech:

A “libertarian” who wants limited government should embrace the means to his freedom: thriving mediating institutions that create the moral preconditions for economic markets and choice. A “social issues” conservative with a zeal for righteousness should insist on a free market economy to supply the material needs for families, schools, and churches that inspire moral and spiritual life. In a nutshell, the notion of separating the social from the economic issues is a false choice. They stem from the same root.

While both these principles are traditionally conservative, they equal emphasis of traditional morality and free markets is a characteristic of fusionism.

Following the Republican Party's defeat in the 2006 midterm elections, some were calling for a new "fusionism" between libertarians and liberals in the Democratic Party to address what is seen as increasing governmental interference in private activity. The results of the 2008 elections and the financial crisis of 2007–2010 have brought renewed tension between the libertarians and the social conservatives with centrist economic views.

Prominent Fusionists

• William F. Buckley – founder of National Review; Founder of Young Americans for Freedom (YAF)
• Barry Goldwater – Republican Senator and U.S. presidential candidate
• Frank Meyer – editor of National Review
• Ronald Reagan – fortieth president of the United States; Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) Honorary National Chairman 1962 - 2004
• Ralph E. Reed, Jr. – former executive director of the Christian Coalition; Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) Alum

Critics of Fusionism

• L. Brent Bozell, Jr. – traditionalist Catholic political author ; Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) Alum
• Russell Kirk – traditional conservative philosopher
• Ayn Rand – novelist and founder of Objectivism, who clashed with traditional conservatives and with libertarians
• Murray Rothbard – libertarian author and economist; Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) Alum
• Patrick Buchanan – political commentator and prominent paleoconservative; Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) Alum

See also

• Frank Meyer (political philosopher)
• Neoconservatism and paleoconservatism
• Big tent

References

www.YAF.com

• Ryan Sager, The Elephant in the Room: Evangelicals, Libertarians and the Battle to Control the Republican Party (2006)
• Brink Lindsey, "Liberaltarians"
• Arnold Kling, "Why Be a Conservative Libertarian?"
• Edward Feser, "Hayek and Fusionism"