Are you a fusionist? I am. A fusionist is someone who thinks that social conservatism and fiscal conservatism go together hand in hand. You can’t be just one or the other – you have to be both. Because if you want to achieve one goal, you’ll achieve it better by also working on the other goal in parallel.
Here’s how the new VP Paul Ryan explains it 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.
Now here is a nice booklet about fusionism put out by the Heritage Foundation, my favorite think tank. The booklet is called “Indivisible” and the book chapters are all available as individual PDFs.
Here’s the booklet description:
What do marriage, family, and religion have to do with property, free exchange, and profit? Washington policy circles may separate these into so-called “social” and “economic” issue sets, but for millions of Americans the dividing lines fade away in the reality of everyday life. Together these core social and economic ideas form the foundation of American liberty. Indivisible is a unique set of essays by well-known social and economic conservatives—each writing from the other’s perspective—to show the interdependence of these principles in advancing freedom and human dignity.
So the social conservatives are writing about fiscal issues, and the fiscal conservatives are writing about social issues.
Here’s the list of people and topics:
| Civil Society Moral Arguments for Limiting Government Joseph G. Lehman Download PDF |
Wages The Value of Wages Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr. Download PDF |
| Rule of Law Economic Prosperity Requires the Rule of Law J. Kenneth Blackwell Download PDF |
Religion Why Faith Is a Good Investment Arthur Brooks, Ph.D., and Robin Currie Download PDF |
| Life The Cause of Life Can’t be Severed from the Cause of Freedom Representative Paul Ryan Download PDF |
International Trade Why Trade Works for Family, Community, and Sovereignty Ramesh Ponnuru Download PDF |
| Free Exchange Morality and Economic Freedom Jim Daly with Glenn T. Stanton Download PDF |
Culture A Culture of Responsibility Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D. Download PDF |
| Marriage The Limited-Government Case for Marriage Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D. Download PDF |
Property Property and the Pursuit of Happiness Representative Michele Bachmann Download PDF |
| Profit Prophets and Profit Marvin Olasky, Ph.D. Download PDF |
Environment Conserving Creation Tony Perkins Download PDF |
| Family Washington’s War on the Family and Free Enterprise Stephen Moore Download PDF |
Education A Unified Vision for Education Choice Randy Hicks Download PDF |
And Jay Richards gave the introduction.
My two favorite chapters are Jennifer Roback Morse and Michele Bachmann, of course. I have the actual printed booklet, and it’s all wrinkled on the edges because I read it while doing post-workout cardio. The essays are just 4-6 pages long.
WINTERY KNIGHT 