Fusionism
[3][4] The philosophy of "fusionism" was developed at National Review magazine during the 1950s under the editorship of William F. Buckley, Jr. and is most identified with his associate editor Frank Meyer.
[3][4] As Buckley recounted the founding, he "brokered" between "an extraordinary mix" of libertarians, traditional conservatives and anti-communists to produce the ideas and writings that composed modern conservatism.
After listing "intellectual leaders like Russell Kirk, Friedrich Hayek, Henry Hazlitt, Milton Friedman, James Burnham, [and] Ludwig von Mises" as the ones who "shaped so much of our thoughts," he discussed only one of these influences at length: It's especially hard to believe that it was only a decade ago, on a cold April day on a small hill in upstate New York, that another of these great thinkers, Frank Meyer, was buried.
It was Frank Meyer who reminded us that the robust individualism of the American experience was part of the deeper current of Western learning and culture.
He pointed out that a respect for law, an appreciation for tradition, and regard for the social consensus that gives stability to our public and private institutions, these civilized ideas must still motivate us even as we seek a new economic prosperity based on reducing government interference in the marketplace.
We can make government again responsive to the people by cutting its size and scope and thereby ensuring that its legitimate functions are performed efficiently and justly.
[citation needed] The social conservative element of the Republican Party was seen on the ascent (at least with respect to domestic politics) during the presidency of George W. Bush.
[10] The results of the 2008 elections and the financial crisis of 2007–2008 have brought renewed tension between the libertarians and the social conservatives with centrist economic views.
[12] In a polemic, the traditional conservative philosopher Russell Kirk, quoting T. S. Eliot's expression, called libertarians "chirping sectaries".
[16] Kirk had questioned fusionism between libertarians and traditional conservatives that marked much of post-World War II conservatism in the United States.
