“Conservatism” cannot be limited to a single idea. It has always been concerned with preserving the best of the past to lead us toward a better future. “Fusionism” is a term describing how several key strands of thinking have been woven into one strong rope for pulling the conservative movement forward. When our founders gathered to write the Constitution, it was not the strong authoritarian views of Hamiliton, or the libertarian views of Jefferson that won the day, but rather the unifying “fusion” of both these men through the leadership of James Madison. America has benefited ever since from the fusing of libertarian means with traditional ends in conservatism. Becky Norton Dunlop defines and develops this “fusionism” in this sixth installment of our series on Conservatism 101.
http://www.liberty.edu/
The Presenter
Becky Norton Dunlop serves on the senior management team of The Heritage Foundation as Vice President for External Relations. She represents Heritage and presents conservative policies and views in national and international venues. Prior to joining Heritage, she served as Secretary of Natural Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia. In the 1980’s, Mrs. Dunlop was a senior official in the Administration of President Ronald Reagan. She also served in the U.S. Department of Justice, was Deputy Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior and Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. She also is the author of Clearing the Air, which discusses environmental and natural resources challenges in the context of federalism. She is a Senior Fellow of the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution. Dunlop and her husband, George, reside in Arlington, Virginia.
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