Fusionism

“Political movements need vigorous argument, but the rush toward the new often makes us forget that previous generations wrestled with similar dilemmas—and left behind compelling solutions. By recovering the fusionist tradition of figures like Frank Meyer, this book shows why that philosophy may still be the clearest path out of our present impasse.” —George Hawley, author of Conservatism in a Divided America

“Though much has been written on the tension of conservatism and classical liberalism in the 1950s and 1960s, a sort of fusion became the default for almost all persons who were not already left or ideologically oriented and committed. Here, Slade brilliantly and artfully tells the story and offers brand new insights into the twentieth century.” —Bradley Birzer, author of Russell Kirk: American Conservative

“In a season of growing rancor and confusion in our nation’s politics, Stepanie Slade has produced a perceptive study of modern American conservatism’s intellectual roots in its simultaneous commitment to the defense of freedom and the pursuit of virtue. Her book is a welcome reappraisal of conservative intellectual history and an incisive exploration of the ideological fault lines now dividing the American Right.” —George H. Nash, author of The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945

“Stephanie Slade brilliantly illuminates the truth that the free society is made possible by the creative tension between liberty and virtue. With clarity and insight, she shows that if we come to imagine that politics exists to eradicate that tension rather than navigate it, then we will fail to conserve our society. This book is essential reading for conservatives of all parties.” —Yuval Levin, The American Enterprise Institute

“You will not find a better explainer of – or advocate for – fusionism than Stephanie Slade. Fusionism is a splendid read. Slade shows us what American conservatism sometimes was, and might again be.” —Laura K. Field, author of Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right

Stephanie Slade is a senior editor at Reason magazine, where she covers the ins and outs of the American conservative movement. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, America, U.S. News and World Report, and elsewhere.