Can the marriage between libertarianism and traditionalism be saved? Dr. Donald Devine shows us the way back.
The mainstream media are wrong. Conservatives and libertarians are not at war. They should agree on the essentials, if they properly understand them. Donald Devine, who helped President Reagan reduce the Federal bureaucracy, shows how to make the marriage of traditionalists and libertarians work. We can win if we get the basics of freedom and values right!
“Devine spells out the solution for the modern GOP – a fusion of the best of conservative ideas with those of the liberty movement, all rooted in the Constitution.” – Senator Rand Paul
The progressive ideology of both political parties has so corrupted the modern mindset that it has obscured the secret of the Constitution’s success: the way it harmonized freedom and tradition. Devine points to the essential paradox that Nobel laureate F. A. Hayek highlighted – “A successful free society will always in large measure be a tradition-bound society” – and makes the case for a new libertarian-traditionalist “fusion.” As William F. Buckley Jr.’s, Frank Meyer’s and Ronald Reagan’s fusionism led to a conservative revival in the 1960s, a new harmony between freedom and tradition can revive America today.
As Senator Rand Paul said about Devine’s book, It “spells out the solution for the modern GOP.” The solution lies in a new “fusion” of the traditional and libertarian thought that motivated Ronald Reagan and made his administration the most successful in modern times.
About Dr. Devine
The Washington Post described Devine as Ronald Reagan’s “terrible swift sword of the civil service.” As director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management during President Reagan’s first term, Devine helped cut 100,000 bureaucratic jobs and saved over $6 billion reducing bloated benefits. Before and after his government service, Devine was an academic, teaching 14 years as associate professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland and for a decade as a professor of Western civilization at Bellevue University. He is a columnist and author of 11 books, including his most recent “Ronald Reagan’s Enduring Principles: How They Can Promote Political Success Today.” Devine served as an advisor to Reagan from 1976 to 1985, to Sen. Bob Dole from 1988-1996 and to Steve Forbes between 1998-2000.
Host a Lecture
If you are interested in having Dr. Donald Devine talk to your group or organization about how we can save the marriage between traditionalism and libertarianism, please contact Jane Mack at jmack@TFAS.org.