Conservatives Must Take Affordability Seriously

Republicans should seriously examine whether their failure to deliver on affordability contributed to their 2026 midterm losses. In 2024, Generation Z men placed enormous importance on inflation and the cost of living. However, two years later, many Generation Z men remained dissatisfied with their financial circumstances. Exit polling indicated that economic concerns remained central to their decisions. Affordability cannot explain every Republican defeat. Nevertheless, the party should consider whether it adequately fulfilled the economic expectations that helped bring it to power. Conservatives should also remember that conservatism and libertarianism are not synonymous. As Russell Kirk demonstrated in The Conservative Mind, conservatives can share commitments to tradition, private property, established institutions, and prudence while disagreeing substantially over economic policy. Indeed, conservatism encompasses traditions beyond laissez-faire economics. Distributists like G. K. Chesterton emphasized widespread property ownership, strong families, and local economic independence. Hamiltonian conservatives likewise embraced certain forms of government economic intervention. That is not to advocate that Republicans should abandon their faith in free enterprise by embracing reckless government spending. Rather, it means recognizing that economic policy calls for prudent judgment, not ideological rigidity. Looking toward 2028, Republicans should carefully examine affordability and develop thoughtful, principled responses consistent with conservative commitments.