The Fall 2016 Acton Lecture Series continued on October 1st with an address by American Enterprise Institute President Arthur Brooks, who spoke on the topic of his latest book,The Conservative Heart: How to Build a Fairer, Happier, and More Prosperous America.

Conservatives are often vexed by the fact that liberal policies and their supporters are viewed by the public as passionate to the poor even thougha great deal of evidence exists to show thatthat liberal “solutions” to any number of social problems—while passionate—often create as many or more problems thanthey solve in society. Why are people so inclined to supportpoliticians and pundits who promotepolicies that demonstrably disadvantage the downtrodden? And why are people inclined to credit supporters of those counterproductive policiesas being passionate and caring than those who promote ideasthat actually lift the poor out of their poverty?

Arthur Brooks argues that a major part of the problem is in the methods of persuasion that conservatives have tendedto use. He then looks to the past to showwhy Ronald Reagan was so successful in his political career,and proposes that today’s conservatives would do well to follow Reagan’s example:be happy warriors who fightforpeople, and notagainst bad policies.

You can view Brooks’ full presentation below. And as a bonus, after the jump I’ve included videos of the two speeches Brooks mentioned in his address: Ronald Reagan’s 1980 speech accepting the Republican nomination for president in Detroit, Michigan, and Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” speech, delivered as mencement address to the University of Michigan’s class of 1964 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Ronald Reagan accepts the Republican Nomination for President – July 17, 1980

President Lyndon Johnson lays out his vision for a “Great Society” – May 22, 1964