U.S. conservatives continue a healthy debate over how they can reconnect with voters and channel their ideals and goals into policies relevant for the 21st century. But a specter haunts these conversations — a ghost called the ownership society.
This ghost subtly frames and guides all current approaches to conservative thinking, though its influence isn't clearly articulated or noticed anymore. This is a problem, because until the conservative movement deals with its ideal of an ownership society, it is unlikely to advance.
The ownership society mantra of the President George W. Bush years is usually treated as a punch line, associated with Republican cheerleading of high homeownership numbers during the bubble or the push to privatize Social Security in 2005 that failed before it even got started.