The Republican Party has drifted toward a market fundamentalism in which freer markets and bigger tax cuts are the answer to every question. Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey recently declared that “capitalism is nothing more than economic freedom.” And former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley tweeted that “as we are dealing with changes in our economy, tax cuts are always a good idea.”
This is not conservative in any meaningful sense of the word. Conservatives value economic freedom, absolutely, but a well-functioning economy is a means to the greater ends of strong families, stable communities and a flourishing nation under limited government.
Markets are wonderful, but they only solve some problems. And, sometimes, they are the problem.
Contrary to Toomey’s assertion, conservatives recognize that capitalism only works when legal rules and a moral culture channel the pursuit of profit toward advancing the common good.
Recommended Reading
Liz Truss, Supply-Side Crush
American Compass executive director Oren Cass discusses Liz Truss’s disastrous time as prime minister and the irrational response from supply-siders.
In Preparation for Power, America’s New Right Builds New Institutions
In a profile of the new institutions springing up to influence the new right’s policy agenda, American Compass is described as “among the more sophisticated,” with proposals that have been “influential among lawmakers.”
Oren Cass Discusses the Future of the GOP
American Compass executive director Oren Cass discusses whether DC’s conservative institutions will shift after the 2022 primaries to become more responsive to the GOP base.
