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Republicans invoke Ronald Reagan constantly. They sing his praises every chance they get, and seem to believe there is no public policy problem that a good dose of Reaganism can’t fix. But has the Right got Reagan wrong all this time? In his new book, The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism, Henry Olsen argues the classic conception of Reagan as an arch-libertarian on economic policy is misguided. Only by understanding the real Reagan can Republicans forge a lasting coalition capable of governing America well into the future.
Henry Olsen is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where he studies and provides commentary on American politics. His work focuses on how to address the electoral challenges facing modern American conservatism, while staying true to conservative principles. Before joining the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Mr. Olsen most recently served from 2006 to 2013 as vice president and director of the National Research Initiative at AEI. He previously worked as vice president of programs at the Manhattan Institute and president of the Commonwealth Foundation. His work has been featured in many prominent publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, National Review, and The Weekly Standard.
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This was very interesting, thank you. I was with Henry up until about minute 28, when James asks him if the GOP changing its positions to win over the Reagan voters might end up giving us economic policies that aren’t very good ideas. That’s an excellent question, and Henry answers “I think what the Republican Party needs to do is…stop being bound by your ideology, and be bound by principles, and be more flexible… understand that [the New Deal welfare state] is a sacred obligation… and focus on who needs it…” He goes on the remainder of the podcast to beg a big question, namely, that doing what the Reagan working class wants won’t be a bad economic idea. Listen closely and he appears to simply assume that keeping or expanding the welfare state won’t be a big economic problem, and indeed the GOP focusing in a big way on that question is either dumb or heartless. He speaks of not treating people like “ciphers on a spreadsheet,” but this strikes me as basically avoiding the question at best, and presuming the answer at worst.
I don’t know anything about Olsen, but it appears to me that he believes light socialism is perfectly fine economically, and his advice to the GOP to embrace it for political reasons might be a bit coy, the kind of “helpful” advice you get from someone who wants you to change your beliefs without actually telling you why they are wrong, only that they are unpopular.
James’ question remained unanswered, and it’s my question for Olsen as well: what if what the Reagan working class wants isn’t going to take the country in a better direction economically, and the GOP has to choose between what is popular and what is wise? He doesn’t seem to acknowledge that this is a possible trade-off.