The Economist Next Door The Future of Fusionism: Liberty, Virtue, and Conservatism's Path Forward
Feb 17, 2026
Nikolai Wenzel, an economist focused on conservative/libertarian debates, and Nathan W. Schlueter, a political philosopher defending classical liberalism, discuss fusionism's aim to reconcile liberty and virtue. They trace its Cold War roots, debate immigration, family and the administrative state, and explore whether classical thinkers still provide common ground for a fractured right.
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Fusionism As A Pragmatic Coalition
- Frank Meyer framed fusionism as a coalition reconciling limited government with public virtue rather than a detailed systematic theory.
- Nathan warns genuine fusion will be a pragmatic, often unstable working coalition with ongoing disagreements.
Common Enemy Held The Alliance Together
- The Cold War united libertarians and conservatives against external communism and internal administrative expansion.
- The alliance frays when conservatives seek to use the administrative state to pursue moral aims and libertarians resist state-driven virtue.
Roots Of Post‑Liberal Disaffection
- Post-liberal anger stems from immigration neglect and cultural breakdown, especially family decline.
- Nathan worries post-liberals now favor administrative economic intervention, which he finds alarming.
