The image of one generation standing on the shoulders of the previous generation is particularly picturesque for fusionism.  Both the means and ends of this blending together of several strands of conservative thinking has required the study and implementation of the wisdom of the ages.  Only by understanding the nature of man, his fallen nature, and thus the necessity of a limited government is one able to then see the need for the conservative way.

Fusionism occurs at the level of principle.  When conservatives of varying views can see their agreement in the basic tenets of libertarian means and traditionalist ends, they can continue to have the strength of numbers that allows them to pursue their agenda.  In other words, government’s end should be liberty, so that man’s end could be his/her pursuit of virtue.

The three legs of the conservative stool that were the foundation for modern conservatism, known as “Fusion Conservatism,” are Libertarians, Traditionalists and Anticommunists.  These three are disparate, yet amenable groups that have much in common.  All three abhor the leviathan state, believe in free will, a transcendent moral order, and believed communism was the greatest threat to America and Western civilization.  While the conservative movement has many different strands today, such as social conservatives, neoconservatives, etc., these three basic underpinnings allow conservatism to be more than a movement of ideas, but, as Buckley said, “a movement of ideas in action – with political consequences.”

Familiarity with the Bible, John Locke, Edmund Burke, Adam Smith, and our founding documents written by Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton, and Madison, and the many others mentioned by Dunlop, is necessary to be able to stand on their shoulders.  In this day of the internet, iTunes, and online classrooms such as this, these works and many others have never been as accessible as they are now.

President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

This requires actively reading, studying, and thoughtful analysis of each new generation.  Whose shoulders are you going to be standing on?