The Integration of Theory and Practice

The Integration of Theory and Practice: A Program for the New Traditionalist Movement is a document published in 2001 by the Free Congress Foundation. It was written by Eric Heubeck with guidance from Free Congress Foundation founder Paul Weyrich.

It is an American conservative political activism call to action. It urges conservatives to reassess their position in American society and to consolidate their position by focusing on building conservative institutions with the goal of "taking over political structures." Heubeck makes a number of pragmatic arguments, such as "Good Results More Important than Good Intentions."

The essay describes as "hopeless and self-delusional" the political activism efforts of conservatives to "compensate for their weakness in the non-political sectors of society." Instead it called for fostering an understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of conservatism in American society which would in turn convince Americans that conservatives can be trusted to take over political structures: "to do that we must win the people over culturally -- by defining how man ought to act, how he ought to perceive the world around him, and what it means to live the good life. Political arrangements can only be formed after these fundamental questions have been answered." Weyrich's 1999 A moral minority? An open letter to conservatives from Paul Weyrich is cited for its call for "a tactical retreat from political battle" for conservatives to regroup and reorganize. Again citing Weyrich, it suggests that "a network of parallel cultural institutions" be developed, "existing side-by-side with the dominant leftist cultural institutions" and that these institutions will supersede "the existing ... conservative movement ... because it will pursue a very different strategy and be premised on a very different view of its role in society."

Originally appearing on the FreeCongressFoundation.org website in Summer of 2001, it was removed in early 2006.

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