There’s a battle for the soul of conservatism. On one side are those who emphasize liberty: man’s natural right to live as he pleases so long as he doesn’t violate the rights of others. On the other side are those who emphasize virtue: man’s duty to uphold order and live according to right reason. This has always been a contentious issue on the Right. But is it a false dichotomy?

Stephanie Slade, managing editor of Reason, thinks so. She’s written a fine essay on fusionism, the attempt to synthesize liberty and virtue into a coherent philosophical system. According to Slade, the popular narrative surrounding fusionism, that it was primarily a political coalition sustained by the Cold War, which inevitably collapsed once that conflict ended, is wrong. Building on midcentury conservative intellectuals such as Frank Meyer, Slade insists that fusionism is primarily about ideas rather than politics.