Arthur C. Brooks is president of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He has served as president since January 1, 2009. He is also the Beth and Ravenel Curry Scholar in Free Enterprise. Before joining AEI, Dr. Brooks was the Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, where he taught economics and social entrepreneurship. Prior to his work in academia and public policy, he spent 12 years as a classical musician in the United States and Spain. Dr. Brooks is a contributing opinion writer for the New York...
Overview
In “The Conservative Heart,” Arthur C. Brooks offers a bold new vision for conservatism as a movement for social and economic justice.
Brooks contends that after years of focusing on economic growth and traditional social values, it is time for a new kind of conservatism — one that helps the vulnerable without mortgaging our children’s future. In Brooks’s daring vision, this conservative movement fights poverty, promotes equal opportunity, celebrates earned success, and values spiritual enlightenment. It is an inclusive movement with a positive agenda to help people lead happier, more hopeful, and more satisfied lives.
One of the country’s leading scholars and policy thinkers, Brooks has considered these issues for decades. Drawing on years of research on the sources of happiness, he asserts that what people most need are four “institutions of meaning” — faith, family, community, and meaningful work. These are not only the foundations of personal well-being, but also the necessary means for building a better nation.
