The Economist Next Door

The Future of Fusionism: Liberty, Virtue, and Conservatism's Path Forward

What's driving the growing infighting on the political right? In this episode of The Economist Next Door, host Paul Mueller is joined by Nathan W. Schlueter and Nikolai Wenzel to revisit fusionism—the postwar effort, associated with Frank Meyer, to reconcile liberty and virtue, free markets and moral order, drawing on a tradition that includes Adam Smith, Edmund Burke, and Alexis de Tocqueville. They examine the Cold War roots of the libertarian–conservative alliance, the rise of post-liberalism, and current disputes over immigration, marriage, and the administrative state. Can liberty and virtue coexist? And does the American founding still offer common ground?

Economic Freedom vs. the Warmth of Collectivism

In this episode of The Economist Next Door, host Paul Mueller is joined by AIER economists Dave Hebert and Julia Cartwright to introduce the Defending Freedom, Combating Collectivism team. They examine the rise of collectivism on both the right and left, how political incentives fuel cronyism and redistribution, and why politicians so often pick winners and losers at consumers' expense. What does this growing struggle mean for economic freedom, human flourishing, and the American future?

Introducing 'The Economist Next Door'

In the debut episode of The Economist Next Door, host Paul Mueller (Senior Research Fellow at AIER) sits down with Samuel Gregg, President of the American Institute for Economic Research, to peel back the layers of modern economic debate. Moving beyond the dry jargon of spreadsheets and data points, Mueller and Gregg explore why the battle for free markets has shifted from a technical argument to a deeply moral one. They discuss the rising tide of "collectivism" appearing on both ends of the political spectrum and why the "everyman" should care about the philosophical foundations of trade, sound money, and individual liberty.

What is Wealth?

What is wealth? Why shouldn't the government own stakes in corporations? And what are some non-market problems with tariffs? Richard Stern joins the show today to discuss. Richard Stern is Acting Director of the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies and Director of the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget at The Heritage Foundation.

The Federalization of State Budgets

How much have state budgets been taken over by the federal government? Is anything wrong with the Bureau of Labor Statistics? And what's nationalist about trade surpluses? Tony Woodlief joins Econception to discuss. Tony Woodlief is State Policy Network's Senior Executive Vice President and Senior Fellow for SPN's Center for Practical Federalism.