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Sam Gregg, president of the American Institute for Economic Research, told FOX Business that defenders of free markets need to shift their focus from detailing policy prescriptions to persuading people with moral and philosophical arguments as democratic socialism gains influence on the U.S. left.
Gregg said the recent rise of politicians and activists who describe themselves as democratic socialists represents a departure from “your old-style Democratic Party” and from “your JFK Democrats,” and argued these figures “fundamentally disagree with the economic settings of the United States” and seek a system more like a European social democracy.
“Those of us who believe in free markets, I think, really need to improve our game in terms of persuading people on the right and the left as to why these bad policies don’t work,” Gregg told FOX Business. He added that free-market advocates are “very good at talking about policy” but “less good at invoking the type of moral language that is necessary if you want to persuade people.”
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Economic arguments plus moral framing, Gregg says
Gregg urged that arguments for capitalism should go beyond showing how market systems produce prosperity. “People will be persuaded up to a point by economic arguments, but they’re also wanting to know that they’re doing the right thing, they’re doing the good thing,” he said. Free market messaging, he said, should emphasize that capitalism is “a broader fight for liberty” and a way for people to “participate in the American Dream and pursue all sorts of things.”
Gregg, who has written a new book about what he describes as the “civilization of commerce,” said the case for markets includes respect for economic liberty and institutions that expand opportunities “to pursue happiness… to transform your lives, not just in economic ways, but at the level of your family, in the culture, in everything we do.”
Linking economic freedom to other liberties
Beyond prosperity, Gregg warned that restricting economic freedom can weaken other rights. “Once the government starts shutting down economic freedom, other freedoms quickly follow,” he said. He singled out property rights as foundational: when they are compromised, Gregg said, it threatens “your ability to get up and move. It’s your ability to freely associate with people. It’s your ability to hold opinions without thinking that if you hold the wrong political opinion, the government’s going to take your property away from you.”
The discussion came amid signs that support for different economic systems is shifting but remains divided. A Fox News poll conducted Oct. 9–12 found 51% of voters had a favorable view of capitalism, down two points from a year earlier and six points from early 2019, while 32% had a favorable view of socialism, up five points from last year and seven points from 2019.
Gregg said the practical task for free-market advocates is to marry sound policy proposals with a persuasive moral narrative that resonates across the political spectrum, helping people understand both the material benefits of markets and the wider liberties those systems can protect.
