RECOMMENDED READING
Wells King is the research director for American Compass, a new think tank. Writing recently at NRO, Oren Cass, the organization’s founder, said it was “dedicated to helping American conservatism recover from its chronic case of market fundamentalism.” King has previously worked for the Joint Economic Committee and the management-consulting firm McKinsey. He discussed his views on public policy and the goals of American Compass with National Review’s Daniel Tenreiro. The interview is edited for clarity and brevity.
Daniel Tenreiro: Could you give us an overview of American Compass?
Wells King: The goal of American Compass is to restore an economic consensus that emphasizes the importance of families, communities, and industry for the nation’s liberty and prosperity. It’s about returning to an older sense of what economics is for and the types of economic policies that conservatives should use to support the ends that they believe in.
Recommended Reading
Conservative Intellectuals Launch a New Group To Challenge Free-Market ‘Fundamentalism’ on the Right
Oren Cass believes conservatives have blundered by outsourcing GOP economic policymaking to libertarian “fundamentalists” who see the free market as an end unto itself, rather than as a means for improving quality of life to strengthen families and communities.
Podcast: The Return of Conservative Economics
American Compass’s Oren Cass and Wells King join the Bill Walton Show to discuss Rebooting the American System.
American Compass, Moving the Needle
Oren Cass’s pro-worker, pro-family think tank has exercised surprising influence on the broader conservative movement.
