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Joshua Hart: Harper's legacy was undone. Next time, the new right will make it last

Conservatives must combine economic liberty with building cultural institutions that will endure

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A new terminology has developed within the conservative movement: that of the so called old right and the new right. This discourse, and the resulting synthesis between the two, is among the most important conversations happening in the centre-right political tradition today. It will not be resolved anytime soon, nor should it be.

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The old right represents the conservatism embodied by the structural economic reforms of leaders like Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher — a coalition pairing free enterprise with free individuals as the surest path to a flourishing society. In the anglosphere it developed because an unsustainable system of economic micromanagement had emerged following the end of the Second World War and, along with the rapid social change of that time, led to a strong streak of small-l liberalism paired with free-market ideals.

Joshua Hart: Harper's legacy was undone. Next time, the new right will make it last Back to video

The new right, while maintaining that fundamental character, sees greater purpose in the mediating institutions of society: objects like the family, the church, the local community. It sees greater purpose for government, both in uplifting those institutions and in forming the bedrock of a modern society engaged in purposeful action, beyond the traditional vision of limiting the state as the preeminent solution to today’s problems. What might appear a minor contrast has produced far-reaching disagreement.

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