Podcast appearances and mentions of Frank S Meyer

In this episode:Eugene Meyer, son of Frank S. Meyer and President and CEO of the Federalist Society, joins to talk about the legacy of Fusionism, the philosophy pioneered by his fatherFrank Meyer's conversion from communism to championing politics centered around individual freedomthe enduring debate over the timeless principles of freedom and virtue in American political historyTexts Mentioned:In Defense of Freedom by Frank S. Meyer"Common Good Originalism" by Josh HammerThe Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien Become a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

Matt and Sam dedicate an entire episode to an under appreciated but indispensable figure in the founding of post-war conservatism: Frank Meyer, the father of "fusionism."Meyer was  a man of  contradictions: an ex-communist ideologue who longed for consensus; a cantankerous, unyielding debater who kept his friends and rivals close; a bohemian, individualist Jew who argued vociferously for freedom and against repressive orthodoxies, but who converted to Catholicism on his death bed. In this episode, we explore his life, work, and legacy — including a close reading of his most famous book, In Defense of Freedom: A Conservative Credo. Along the way, we ask some big questions: Why was it so important for Meyer to find a philosophical justification for fusing the traditional and libertarian strains of the conservative movement? How did he go about doing it? And did it work? Today, many — especially younger — conservatives consider fusionism to be a dead consensus, a marriage of erstwhile convenience in which one partner, economic libertarians, got everything they wanted, while the other, Christian traditionalists, have seen unfettered capitalism and licentious liberalism destroy the precious permanent things they had hoped to conserve: Church, family, and community.  As the seams of the fusionist alliance fray, we look back to the man who conceived it in the first place. This one is for the nerds. We hope you enjoy it! Further Reading: Frank S. Meyer, In Defense of Freedom: A Conservative Credo (Regnery, 1962)George H. Nash, The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945 (Basic Books, 1976)Jeffrey Hart, The Making of the American Conservative Mind: National Review and Its Times (ISI Books, 2006)Garry Wills, Confessions of a Conservative (Doubleday, 1979)Kevin J. Smant, Principles and Heresies: Frank S. Meyer and  the Shaping of the American Conservative Movement (ISI Books, 2002)Various, "Against the Dead Consensus," First Things, March 21, 2019Frank S Meyer, "The Twisted Tree of Liberty," National Review  Jan 16, 1962L. Brent Bozell Jr. "Freedom or Virtue," National Review, Sept 11, 1962...and don't forget to subscribe on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes! 

Did libertarianism put America on the road to ruin? And did the conservative movement losing fights like that of same-sex marriage, really put us on the slippery slope to transgender ideology being the norm? This week we’re talking to Declan Leary of The American Conservative magazine, about why he wants to see libertarians cast out of the Republican coalition for good & see the American right get excited about controlling government and putting it to use for a change. At the core of this show is a question about what defines “normal” when it comes to our politics. Societal norms in America have changed rapidly in the past sixty years, and a lot of good has come from it. But change also equals disruption; that’s the nature of challenging the status quo. There will always be costs to it, and there will also always be holdouts who do not accept the new “normal” or believe the consensus in politics or society at large is a consensus at all. Recognizing this is part of why we started Rightly in the first place, and why I excitedly host this show every week. The “consensus” in American politics, particularly on the right, isn’t looking like much of a consensus at all these days. Donald Trump’s campaign and presidency changed everything. Stephen’s guests this week are Declan Leary, Associate Editor of The American Conservatve magazine and Nate Hochman, a fellow with National Review. Both are from a younger generation of conservatives who would call themselves more traditionalist conservatives (tradcons), Leary most of all. The politics of Leary and increasingly so at his publication, The American Conservative, is all about challenging the decades old consensus on the right...that of fusionism between libertarian orthodoxy with conservative thought. Donald Trump was not so much an avatar of this faction as he was an inspiration to point out that the “consensus” in our politics was anything but. Whether it be gay marriage, no-fault divorce, adoption or the gender equality gains of the sexual revolution, all of this and more is up for renewed debate by a younger and quite energized conservative movement. But don’t talk to them about tax rates - their concern is what constitutes “virtue” and whether or not “liberty” is really working out so well for our society. Libertarians, progressives and liberals - in the mind of the new right, these traditional conservatives, they’re all part of the same problem in our politics, neighborhoods and families. In this episode, Declan Leary and Nate Hochman answer questions about this rising faction, what they do and don’t believe, and if America as we understand it today...is worth saving. These conversations are important, because if you don’t understand these intellectual rifts on the right, you’ll only be caught flat-footed and surprised at the ways in which these debates are reshaping the Republican Party as we’ve understood it. Subscribe to Rightly and catch more details about the episode below. Make sure to sign up for Unfettered, our new newsletter, available now. Newsletter signup: https://www.getrevue.co/profile/rightlyaj/issues/right-now-unfettered-10-16-21-814092---- Content of This Episode ---- 00:00 Episode Start 00:05 Declan Leary: What Libertarians get wrong about liberty 05:30 Decades-old debate over fusionism still not settled 12:45 Neutrality is a myth; laws are always a value statement 19:45 What is a family and why is that so hard to define? 26:10 Leary: Buttigieg family photo a “mockery” 34:15 Gender neutral pronouns as the default 38:12 Why everything is subjective now 43:11 Always some good news to share ---- Reading List ---- “The Twisted Tree of LIberty” by Frank S. Meyer https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/01/communism-conservatism-twisted-tree-liberty/“Freedom or Virtue” by L. Brent Bozell Jr. https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/01/freedom-virtue-conservatism-goal-society-freedom-or-virtue/ ---- Plugs for our Guests ---- Follow Declan Leary: https://twitter.com/DeclanLearyFollow Nate Hochman: https://twitter.com/njhochman

This week, Jonah brings The Remnant to you from the ice-wracked void of Austin, Texas. His guest is Stephanie Slade, the managing editor of Reason magazine. Stephanie and Jonah provide some helpful explanations of what the oldest coalition of modern conservatism (i.e. “fusionism”) really is, who its members were, and what its political motivations were. Then, in an instance of “violent agreement,” our two intrepid intellectual explorers refute the idea that this fusionist project is a “dead consensus” or that it necessarily precludes membership from libertarians. Interestingly, Jonah thinks that the tensions within fusionism are strong enough that “it doesn’t make sense as a purely philosophical project,” but Stephanie is confident that American political history indicates that the tension between virtue and freedom is resolved within the fusion of these different branches of conservatism.   Show Notes: -Stephanie Slade’s Reason archive -Stephanie: “Is There a Future for Fusionism?” -M. Stanton Evans: The Theme is Freedom -Jonah: “Fusionism Today” -Ramesh Ponnuru: “Fusionists and Fissionists” -Murray Rothbard: “Frank S. Meyer: The Fusionist as Libertarian” -Frank Meyer v. L. Brent Bozell Jr. -Daniel E. Burns: “Liberal Practice v. Liberal Theory” -Donald Devine’s The Enduring Tension: Capitalism and the Moral Order -William James’ “blooming, buzzing confusion” -Post-liberal conservatives See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christian college professors Matt Parks and David Corbin explore the ideas behind today's headlines.Part 1 (1:17): Required Reading - Professor Corbin assigns two essays by Frank S. Meyer to understand the intellectual roots of modern conservatism and Meyer’s own contribution to that intellectual tradition, fusionism: “Western Civilization: The Problem of Freedom” (1968), published in In Defense of Freedom and Other Essays, and “Freedom, Tradition, and Conservatism,” chapter 1 of What is Conservatism? (1964).Part 2 (starts at 26:42): Headlines - Since the end of June, The American Conservative has been publishing a series of essays that, in the spirit of Meyer, ask the question “What is American Conservatism?” today. We discuss key elements of the debate within that symposium and the grounds for an intellectually-coherent and politically- viable contemporary conservatism. Link: “What is American Conservatism?” symposium at The American Conservative.Part 3 (45:12): Open the Grade Book - With three Power 5 college football conferences planning to play this fall and two having postponed football to the spring, we grade three plans for determining the national champion. Part 4 (51:13): Tocqueville's Crystal Ball - With the Democratic National Convention set to dominate next week’s political headlines, we make predictions about the forthcoming speeches of Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton, Kamala Harris, and Joe Biden. Opening and closing music is from the beginning of "Happy Life" by Ryan Andersen from his 2018 album, Americana volume 1. Available here. Licensed by Creative Commons.Matt Parks is an Associate Professor of Politics at The King’s College in New York City. David Corbin is a Professor of Politics and the Vice President of Academic Affairs at Providence Christian College in Pasadena, California. All views expressed in this podcast are their own.