Why U.S. conservatives should embrace socialist, European-style economics

The benefits to the traditional family are clear

Paul Ryan
(Image credit: (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images))

America has a two-party political system, but that doesn't mean we have two perfectly coherent and consistent parties. Inside each party, of course, are a variety of diverse factions. Within the GOP, for instance, are social conservatives eager to maintain "traditional" cultural forms, and fiscal conservatives who want to install laissez-faire economic policies.

On good days, these two broad goals do not come into conflict, and the conservative coalition works together in harmony. But this is not always the case. The goals of traditionalism and laissez-faire economic policy inevitably collide from time to time. And it is in those instances that the dominant faction of American conservatism is revealed.

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Matt Bruenig writes about poverty, inequality, and economic justice at Demos, Salon, The Atlantic, The American Prospect, and The Week. He is a Texas native and graduate of the University of Oklahoma.