Future of Freedom Initiative

Modern American conservatism has never been a tidy place. Since its post-World War II origins as a coalition of traditionalists, libertarians, and anti-communists, modern American conservatism has contained a wide variety of writers, organizers, and activists with a common set of adversaries: progressivism at home and totalitarianism abroad. 

But was that all they had in common? Some leading voices said yes. But others — William F. Buckley, M. Stanton Evans, Frank Meyer, and Friedrich Hayek — said no. While recognizing that the Center-Right often disagreed about policy specifics, issue priorities, and basic philosophical questions, these leaders saw their movement as more than just a short-term tactical alliance. They saw it as a distinctly American blend of the politics of freedom with the politics of order — as an “equilibrium of liberty,” in the evocative description of Hillsdale College professor Nathan Schlueter.

Asked to choose between liberty, virtue, or prudence as the guiding principle for American conservatives, these leaders insisted that the only practical answer was all of the above. “The traditionalist and libertarian strands in conservative thought are congruent instead of contradictory,” wrote Evans. To be a traditionalist in America meant conserving the tradition of classical liberalism embedded in our governing institutions, among other things. And in Hayek’s words, to be a libertarian in America meant a “respect for a tradition of rules which we only imperfectly understand,” including those that govern the indispensable social institutions of family, faith, and community.

JWPF recognizes that American conservatism was never truly a fusion. A better metaphor from chemistry would be covalent bonding — sharing enough in common to form a potent but flexible political compound without entirely erasing the distinctions among its adherents. JWPF also recognizes that today’s conditions and challenges differ from those faced by Evans, Hayek, and their contemporaries. Nevertheless, we believe a healthy Center-Right movement — a movement broad enough to constitute a governing majority and strong enough to achieve and sustain policy victories — requires participation, dialogue, and cooperation from diverse groups, including traditionalists and libertarians. 

In our view, freedom allows us to pursue virtue. In turn, virtuous behavior helps sustain our freedom, and it is a reciprocal relationship. Maintaining that relationship is no easy task. “Our freedoms didn’t simply happen,” Evans argued. “They were the result of deliberate precautions and provisos, acts of statecraft which it behooves us to study and remember.”