The Freedom Conservatism Conference
On May 20 in Washington, FREOPP will take a leading role in the 2026 Freedom Conservatism Conference, an effort which seeks to invigorate a right-of-center that reflects many of FREOPP's ideals.
Readers of this newsletter likely know the founding story of FREOPP. In 2016, Avik Roy recognized a gap in the intellectual infrastructure of the free-market policy movement, and the national political landscape had made glaringly obvious that he was right: the free-market movement was failing to connect with tens of millions of Americans, particularly those on the bottom half of the socioeconomic ladder, so they went elsewhere looking for answers.
For nearly ten years since, FREOPP has been a one-of-a-kind voice for policy reforms that expand freedom and are specifically intended to uplift Americans below the median wealth or income.
Much has transpired over that time politically, but one overarching trend should be of particular concern to free-market advocates: significant elements of both major parties appear to increasingly favor a larger, costlier, and more intrusive federal government to drive economic policy, ostensibly in the pursuit of “fairness” or “the common good” — which, of course, once empowered, would be entirely defined by that political party.
On the left, that has looked like an increasing embrace of outright socialism and related radical policies like Medicare-for-All, the “Green New Deal,” and confiscatory wealth taxes. On the right, it has taken the form of immigration restriction, tariffs, embrace of labor unions, and even tax increases and other policies that were previously the domain of the left. FREOPP, of course, offers an alternative to both.
But as a thought leader with a long history in center-right public policy, in addition to leading FREOPP, Avik set about to reverse this trend on the right by helping to author the Freedom Conservatism Statement of Principles, which has since been signed by nearly 400 luminaries in the conservative movement. Since then, the Freedom Conservatism project has held dozens of policy educational sessions reaching hundreds of Congressional staff in Washington, several networking signatory convenings around the country, multiple talent development seminars, and more.
Next week, Freedom Conservatives will gather for their second annual conference in Washington.
While we at FREOPP describe ourselves as a “classical liberal” or free-market think-tank, there is plenty of overlap between FREOPP’s vision and what Freedom Conservatives believe. Among these are that:
A system of limited government, free markets, and individual liberty is not only what the Founders envisioned; it is the greatest engine of human progress, growth, innovation, and upward mobility known to mankind.
There are objective rights and wrongs — good and bad behaviors and decisions that individuals can make — but the federal government cannot and should not impose these behaviors from bureaucracies in Washington. Rather, our culture, families, and civic life must be strengthened from the bottom up.
Finally, a winning political strategy involves a broad and diverse coalition of the American people, and that cannot be achieved by dividing Americans along class, racial, geographic, or other lines. A society, a policy agenda, and a politics that values both virtue and liberty and seeks to uplift every American will succeed.
As the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding approaches, Americans and our policymakers should recommit ourselves to our founding principles, and Freedom Conservatism is a philosophy that embodies them.
At the same time, it is worth noting that this conference takes place at a moment when Americans are seeing firsthand the failures of the American right in many ways departing from limited government philosophy in Washington: high prices, insider corruption, and falling poll numbers. Yet in the states, right-of-center governors and legislatures largely continue to embrace policies aligned with Freedom Conservatism: cutting taxes, embracing right-to-work, expanding educational freedom, and more. Unsurprisingly, Americans are voting with their feet, leaving behind the progressive failures of California and New Jersey for states like Utah and Texas.
That’s just one of the reasons that TheHill.com has not once, but twice in recent months referenced FREOPP specifically to note the optimism of free-market advocates regarding the future of the policy landscape.
There are critical conversations ahead about the principles that should undergird our public policy, the specific policies that best serve the American people, and the strategies behind how they succeed. These discussions will take place next week at the Freedom Conservatism Conference, and FREOPP is grateful to play an active role in advancing them.
In freedom,
Akash Chougule, President