The 2019 National Conservatism Conference took place from July 14-16, 2019
The conference on “National Conservatism” brings together public figures, journalists, scholars, and students who understand that the past and future of conservatism are inextricably tied to the idea of the nation, to the principle of national independence, and to the revival of the unique national traditions that alone have the power to bind a people together and bring about their flourishing.
This public conference is the kick off for a protracted effort to recover and reconsolidate the rich tradition of national conservative thought as an intellectually serious alternative to the excesses of purist libertarianism, and in stark opposition to political theories grounded in race. Our aim is to solidify and energize national conservatives, offering them a much-needed institutional base, substantial ideas in the areas of public policy, political theory, and economics, and an extensive support network across the country.
Tucker Carlson: Big Business Hates Your Family – National Conservatism Conference
Tucker Carlson’s keynote at the inaugural National Conservatism Conference, 7/15/19. With his typical flair, Tucker Carlson reminds conservatives that the biggest threat to individual liberty, conscience, and the family in America today comes not from government, but from the private sector, and explores the fundamental intolerance at the heart of “woke capitalism.”
Peter Thiel: The Star Trek Computer Is Not Enough – National Conservatism Conference
Peter Thiel’s opening keynote at the inaugural National Conservatism Conference, 7/14/19.
J. D. Vance: Beyond Libertarianism – National Conservatism Conference
J. D. Vance addresses plenary session of inaugural National Conservatism Conference, 7/16/19.
Yoram Hazony: Why National Conservatism? – National Conservatism Conference
Yoram Hazony addresses plenary session of inaugural National Conservatism Conference, 7/15/19.
Sen. Josh Hawley: The Promise of the Republic – National Conservatism Conference
Sen. Josh Hawley’s closing keynote at the inaugural National Conservatism Conference, 7/16/19.
Patrick Deneen: Sustainable Conservatism – National Conservatism Conference
Patrick Deneen addresses plenary session of inaugural National Conservatism Conference, 7/16/19.
Paulina Neuding: Nationalism as an Antidote to Racism – National Conservatism Conference
Paulina Neuding addresses plenary session of inaugural National Conservatism Conference, 7/16/19.
Amb. John Bolton – National Conservatism Conference
Amb. John Bolton’s conversation with Chris DeMuth at the inaugural National Conservatism Conference, 7/16/19.
Michael Anton: Downsides of Hard and Soft Imperialism – National Conservatism Conference
Michael Anton addresses plenary session of inaugural National Conservatism Conference, 7/16/19.
Bob Woodson: Conservative Values in Rebuilding Family & Community
Bob Woodson’s remarks on July 16, 2019 during the “Identity Politics vs. National Conservatism” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference.
Mary Eberstadt: Social Conservatism and the National Interest – National Conservatism Conference
Mary Eberstadt addresses plenary session of inaugural National Conservatism Conference, 7/15/19.
Rusty Reno: Christian Universalism and American Nationalism – National Conservatism Conference
Rusty Reno addresses plenary session of inaugural National Conservatism Conference, 7/15/19.
Yoram Hazony: On Nationalism and Scripture | Closing Remarks at the National Conservatism Conference
Closing remarks of the National Conservatism Conference, 7/16/19. -Yoram Hazony Yoram Hazony wraps up the National Conservatism Conference with a stirring sketch of the ancient Judeo-Christian vision of what it means to be a nation, and how this vision can anchor our political imaginary in the years to come.
David Goldman: Imperial China’s Challenge to Nationalism
David Goldman’s remarks during the “National Conservatism & Foreign Affairs” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference – July 16, 2019.
David Azerrad: What Comes After Identity Politics?
David Azerrad’s remarks during the “Identity Politics vs. National Conservatism” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference in Washington, DC – July 16, 2019.
Oren Cass vs. Richard Reinsch: Should America Adopt An Industrial Policy?
Public debate at the inaugural National Conservatism Conference, 7/15/19. Resolution: “America Should Adopt An Industrial Policy” Pro: Oren Cass Con: Richard Reinsch Chairman: Yoram Hazony Oren Cass, author of “The Once and Future Worker,” and Richard Reinsch, editor of Law and Liberty, debate the pros and cons of America adopting an industrial policy to reinvigorate manufacturing, provide meaningful and productive work for American workers, and reverse the trade deficit. The two debaters persuasively and good-naturedly present rival visions of conservatism and the relative roles of market and state.
David Webb: National Cohesion – National Conservatism Conference
David Webb addresses plenary session of inaugural National Conservatism Conference, 7/16/19. David Webb considers the various ways in which American national cohesion is under assault in our era of identity politics. Interrogating the notion of “white privilege,” he calls for the rebuilding of a national discourse that recognizes our authentic differences while relativizing them in light of our shared heritage.
David Brog: Who We Are and Who We Are Not | Opening Remarks at the National Conservatism Conference
Opening remarks of the inaugural National Conservatism Conference, 7/14/19. – David Brog
Rich Lowry: Why America Isn’t An Idea
Rich Lowry’s remarks during the “American National Conservatism” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference – July 15, 2019. National Review editor Rich Lowry confronts and forcefully rejects the common trope that what defines America is its allegiance to an idea (of freedom, constitutionalism, etc.). According to Lowry, American identity is secured by a shared cultural legacy of common language, customs, and traditions, and these must be vigorously defended by a resurgent cultural nationalism. Lowry is the author of The Case for
Nationalism: How It Made Us Powerful, United, and Free.
Julius Krein: A Strategy for National Development
Julius Krein’s remarks during the “What is Economic Nationalism?” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference – July 16, 2019. Julius Krein, editor of American Affairs, offers a blistering indictment of the shortsightedness of US industrial and trade policy over the past three decades. Noting how America is falling technologically behind other leading economies, Krein calls for vigorous new measures of national development.
Chris DeMuth: The Nationalist Awakening – National Conservatism Conference
Chris DeMuth addresses plenary session of inaugural National Conservatism Conference, 7/15/19.
John O’Sullivan: Euro-Nationalism or Euro-Imperialism?
John O’Sullivan’s remarks during the “International Institutions vs. National Independence” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference in Washington, DC – July 15, 2019.
Salena Zito: What’s This Revolt About?
Salena Zito’s remarks during the “What is Economic Nationalism?” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference – July 16, 2019. Political reporter Salena Zito explains the origins of the wave of populism that resulted in the election of Donald Trump and profiles the new shape of the Republican party.
Ryszard Legutko: Nationalism, Conservatism, & the European Union
Ryszard Legutko’s remarks on July 15, 2019 during the “International Institutions vs. National Independence” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference. Legutko is a Polish political philosopher, a member of the European Parliament, and the author of the seminal 2016 book, “The Demon in Democracy: Totalitarian Temptations in Free Societies.”
Yuval Levin: Burke and the Nation
Yuval Levin’s remarks during “The Nation & Conservative Tradition” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference. Leading public intellectual Yuval Levin uses Edmund Burke to highlight four distinct understandings of nationalism.
Jules Gomes: Christianity, Globalism, & the Nation
Jules Gomes’ remarks during the “Globalism & the Nation” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference in Washington, DC – July 16, 2019.
Joshua Mitchell: Identity Politics & the Stain of Inheritance
Joshua’s Mitchell’s remarks on July 16, 2019 during the “Identity Politics vs. National Conservatism” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference. Mitchell considers the phenomenon of identity politics as a late-modern Protestant heresy. What happens to the historic Protestant emphasis on a guilt that can be expunged only through sacrifice when the churches lose faith in Jesus as the sacrifice for transgression? The substitution of a privileged class as the scapegoat who must bear society’s sin so that everyone else can escape the stain of inherited guilt.
David Brog: Roots of American Nationalism – National Conservatism Conference
David Brog addresses plenary session of inaugural National Conservatism Conference, 7/15/19.
Chris Buskirk: Globalism Dehumanizes Us & Threatens Ordered Liberty
Chris Burkirk’s remarks on July 16, 2019 during the “Globalism & the Nation” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference. Buskirk offers six propositions summarizing the ideology of globalism and exposes the many ways it is undermining the fabric of Western heritage and American society.
Michael Doran: Nationalism and Foreign Policy: The Case of the Middle East
Michael Doran’s remarks during the “National Conservatism & Foreign Affairs” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference in Washington, DC – July 16, 2019.
Amity Shlaes: Coolidge Nationalism & the Things of the Spirit
Amity Shlaes’ remarks during the “American National Conservatism” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference – July 15, 2019.
John Carney: Economic Nationalism vs. Special Interests
John Carney’s remarks during the “What is Economic Nationalism?” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference in Washington, DC – July 16, 2019.
Rebeccah Heinrichs: The Case for Strong Allies
Rebeccah Heinrichs’ remarks during the “National Conservatism & Foreign Affairs” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference in Washington, DC – May 16, 2019. Heinrichs questions and rejects the current consensus on key foreign policy issues. Instead, she calls for a humble American exceptionalism coupled with a strong reliance on longtime regional and global allies.
Daniel McCarthy: National Conservatism in the Early American Republic
Daniel McCarthy’s remarks during the “American National Conservatism” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference in Washington, DC – July 15, 2019. McCarthy outlines the contrast between national conservatism and the “conservatism” (in actuality, a form of classical liberalism) which has dominated the right in recent years. He goes on to show that national conservatism has more claim to be in continuity with the kind of conservatism that prevailed in the early years of the American republic.
John Fonte: American Transnationalism, the EU, & the Davoisie
John Fonte’s remarks during the “International Institutions vs. National Independence” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference – July 15, 2019.
Ofir Haivry: Burke and the American Constitution
Ofir Haivry’s remarks during “The Nation & Conservative Tradition” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference in Washington, DC – July 15, 2019.
Arthur Milikh: The Nation & Big Tech
Arthur Milikh’s remarks during the “Globalism and the Nation” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference in Washington, DC – July 16, 2019.
Andre Archie: Narrative & the Nation
Andre Archie’s remarks during the “American National Conservatism” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference in Washington, DC – July 15, 2019.
Michael Barone: The Conservative Tradition in America
Michael Barone’s remarks during “The Nation & Conservative Tradition” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference – July 15, 2019.
Frank Buckley: The Logic and Limits of American Nationalism
Frank Buckley’s remarks during the “Globalism and the Nation” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference – July 16, 2019.
Clifford May: America as Sheriff, Not as Cop
Clifford May’s remarks during the “National Conservatism & Foreign Affairs” panel at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference – July 16, 2019.
