The Heritage Foundation yesterday released a statement of unifying conservative principles that is as good as anything since the Sharon Statement drafted at the Buckley family estate in 1960. At a time when parts of the conservative movement are at odds with each other about Donald Trump and Trumpism, this reminder of “first principles” is particularly timely and welcome.
The Sharon Statement remains eloquent, but it has a somewhat dated feel, considering its focus on the Cold War against international Communism. (My father, Haywood Hillyer III, was at the Sharon Conference; I wrote about it here.) Still, much of what it said is echoed in Heritage’s new “True North: The Principles of Conservatism.”
For example, from Sharon: “When government interferes with the work of the market economy, it tends to reduce the moral and physical strength of the nation; that when it takes from one man to bestow on another, it diminishes the incentive of the first, the integrity of the second, and the moral autonomy of both.”
And from True North: “America’s economy and the prosperity of individual citizens are best served by a system of free enterprise, with special emphasis on economic freedom, private property rights, and the rule of law. This system is best sustained by policies promoting free trade and deregulation, and opposing government interventions in the economy that distort markets and impair innovation.”
From Sharon: “we will be free only so long as the national sovereignty of the United States is secure; that history shows periods of freedom are rare, and can exist only when free citizens concertedly defend their rights against all enemies….That American foreign policy must be judged by this criterion: does it serve the just interests of the United States?” From True North: “International agreements and international organizations should not infringe on Americans’ constitutional rights, nor should they diminish American sovereignty. America is strongest when our policies protect our national interests…. The best way to ensure peace is through a strong national defense.”
In short, most of the principles of conservatism from 59 years ago remain the same principles Heritage says conservatives should advocate today. This re-commitment to enduring principles indicates that the principles were and are of lasting value, not merely ephemeral.
One new topic in True North is a statement that might make anti-immigration hardliners see red, but which, if read correctly, should unite rather than divide the right. More Reaganesque than Trumpian in tone, it reads: “America must be a welcoming nation—one that promotes patriotic assimilation and is governed by laws that are fair, humane, and enforced to protect its citizens.” Of course this statement does not preclude strict border enforcement and resistance to illegal immigration — but it does promote the positive side of legal immigration, done rightly. Progressives these days often recoil at “assimilation” as if it equates to racism, but Heritage wisely assumes that an embrace of American values is essential to a respect for a plurality of sub-cultures within one vibrant American culture writ large.
That, after all, is the essence of what the national motto E pluribus unum means.
“While good conservatives may have differing viewpoints about some aspects of conservatism, there are certain fundamental principles where we must remain resolute,” wrote Heritage president Kay Cole James said in an email to Heritage staff. “These are our True North principles.”
Read True North for yourself. It is concise, thoughtful, and straightforward. Well done.
