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Fusionism is an American political term for the philosophical and political combination or "fusion" of traditionalist social conservatism with libertarianism summarized as using libertarian means in a conservative society to produce traditional social ends.^[1] The philosophy is most closely associated with Frank Meyer. ^[2]

Intellectual founding and positions[link]

The philosophy of "fusionism" was developed at National Review magazine during the 1950’s under the editorship of William F. Buckley Jr. and is most identified with his associate editor Frank Meyer. As Buckley recounted the founding he “brokered” between “an extraordinary mix” of libertarians, traditional conservatives, anti-communists and even an anarchist to produce the ideas and writings that produced modern conservatism. ^[3] He identified Meyer’s synthesis as the most likely best solution of defining conservatism. ^[4]

In his most influential book, In Defense of Freedom, Meyer defined freedom in what Isaiah Berlin would label “negative” terms as the minimization of the use of coercion by the state in its essential role of preventing one person’s freedom from intruding upon another’s. The state should protect freedom but otherwise leave virtue to individuals. The state has only three legitimate functions - police, military and operating a legal system, all necessary to control coercion, which is immoral if not restricted. Virtue is critical for society and freedom must be balanced by responsibility but both are inherently individual in form. Coerced values cannot be virtuous. Freedom by itself has no goal, no intrinsic end. Freedom is not abstract or utopian as with the utilitarians, who also make freedom an end rather than a means. In a real society traditional order and freedom can only exist together. The solution is a philosophical synthesis of both freedom and tradition, the solution to the dilemma is “grasping it by both horns” and accepting the tension between the two ^[5]

Fusionism’s most famous advocate was Ronald Reagan as an early admirer of National Review and associate of both editors. On assuming the presidency in 1981, he met with conservative leaders around the country in Washington and reminded them of their intellectual roots. After listing “intellectual leaders like Russell Kirk, Friedrich Hayek, Henry Hazlitt, Milton Friedman, James Burnham, [and] Ludwig von Mises” as the ones who “shaped so much of our thoughts,” he discussed only one of these influences at length.

"It's especially hard to believe that it was only a decade ago, on a cold April day on a small hill in upstate New York, that another of these great thinkers, Frank Meyer, was buried. He'd made the awful journey that so many others had: He pulled himself from the clutches of “The [communist] God That Failed, and then in his writing fashioned a vigorous new synthesis of traditional and libertarian thought - a synthesis that is today recognized by many as modern conservatism.

As he recalled him, the new president outlined the ideas Meyer synthesized as the principles for this new conservative movement.

"It was Frank Meyer who reminded us that the robust individualism of the American experience was part of the deeper current of Western learning and culture. He pointed out that a respect for law, an appreciation for tradition, and regard for the social consensus that gives stability to our public and private institutions, these civilized ideas must still motivate us even as we seek a new economic prosperity based on reducing government interference in the marketplace. Our goals complement each other. We're not cutting the budget simply for the sake of sounder financial management. This is only a first step toward returning power to the states and communities, only a first step toward reordering the relationship between citizen and government.

"We can make government again responsive to the people by cutting its size and scope and thereby ensuring that its legitimate functions are performed efficiently and justly. Because ours is a consistent philosophy of government, we can be very clear: We do not have a separate social agenda, separate economic agenda, and a separate foreign agenda. We have one agenda. Just as surely as we seek to put our financial house in order and rebuild our nation's defenses, so too we seek to protect the unborn, to end the manipulation of schoolchildren by utopian planners, and permit the acknowledgement of a Supreme Being in our classrooms just as we allow such acknowledgements in other public institutions. ^[6]

Political History[link]

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.^[7] 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.^[8] In addition, the long standing tensions between neoconservatives and paleoconservatives bubbled over in the wake of the Iraq War.^[8]

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.^[7]

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.^[9] 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.^[8]

Prominent Fusionists[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

• 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
• Donald J. Devine political scientist, author and Ronald Reagan political advisor and director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management 1981-1985.
• Ralph E. Reed, Jr. – former executive director of the Christian Coalition; Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) Alum

Critics of Fusionism[link]

• 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[link]

conservatism portal

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

References[link]

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"

David Keene at CPAC in February 2011.

David A. Keene (born May 20, 1945) is the President of the National Rifle Association. From 1984-2011, he was the chairman of the American Conservative Union.

Political biography[link]

Keene has been involved in politics since the 1960s, when he worked in the White House as a political assistant to Vice President Spiro Agnew and in Congress as executive assistant to Senator James L. Buckley. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he served as the National Chairman of Young Americans for Freedom, he went on to serve as the southern regional coordinator for Ronald Reagan's 1976 bid for the Republican presidential nomination and national political director for George H.W. Bush's 1980 presidential campaign. He advised Senator Robert Dole's 1988 and 1996 presidential campaigns, and in 2007 endorsed Mitt Romney for president.^[1] Today, he is of counsel at the Carmen Group, a lobbying firm based in Washington, D.C.

Keene has been called "one of the country’s most astute political observers,"^[2] and "was counted as one of the few men with both the ear of Republican presidents and an ability to influence the grassroots."^[3]

Civil libertarian[link]

In 2007, Keene co-founded the American Freedom Agenda, "a coalition established to restore checks and balances and civil liberties protections under assault by the executive branch."^[4] (In 2007, Keene resigned from AFA.) He also co-chairs the Constitution Project's Liberty and Security Committee, and has said that "the right to appeal one's detention to an independent judge is a cornerstone of responsible, conservative governance."^[5] He has been critical of the Patriot Act.^[6]

External links[link]

• Last column for the Hill newspaper
• Bio at the Carmen Group
• Bio at the American Conservative Union

References[link]