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I am a Scandinavian coming to the Us for a doctor program. That already tells you I likely have very different political views from you. And indeed, in the Scandinavian context I fall into a moderate position between social-democrats and liberals (in the classic sense), believing in a moderate welfare state as well as the importance of personal liberties. This likely puts me on the, uh, "very liberal"-spectrum in the US. Now, I wonder if you could recommend some reading from a conservative, American point of view that in your opinion is both balanced and thoughtful? I am genuinely interested in that point of view, but I do find that the debate in the US is so polarized that it's hard to find something like that. Fox News, etc, is just exhausting and confusing to me. Based on your writing, you seem like you might know some interesting sources. And my apologies for this sequence of posts, the system confuses me! All best, Heidi

You cannot go wrong with Thomas Sowell. He is an economist and social critic who approaches subjects like the academic he is. I highly recommend starting with his book Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the economy. In it, Sowell lays out conservative economic principles in plain language. You do not have to be a student of economics to appreciate what he has to say.

Some of my readers might object, but I would suggest sticking with more academic type writings on conservatism and avoid the mass appeal conservative writers like Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Dick Morris, or even Mark Levin. Their books tend to preach to the choir. I would call them for entertainment purposes only. Americans are notorious for reading such things and considering themselves intellectuals for doing so.

If and when you do want to move beyond less colorful readings on conservatism into more red meat, then I would try Rush Limbaugh--no matter what negatives you may have heard about him--and Mark Levin.