The Heart of Ronald Reagan’s “Three-legged Stool”

President Reagan talked about the “three-legged stool”of conservatism: Strong free-market system, strong traditional/family values, and a strong military. He said if one leg was missing the stool could not stand on its own. His three-legged stool analogy is a good analogy for America too.  If one of those attributes are missing America won’t survive for long.
At the heart of all those factors is freedom. The free-market system (capitalism if you prefer) is a by product of freedom. Traditional/family values teaches that mankind is the only creature with free will and morals*. Traditionalists cherishes freedom but freedom without morality is just anarchy. That’s why the Founding Fathers always talked about liberty instead of just freedom.
A strong military protects freedom from tyrannical powers. Which keeps the free-market system alive. The free-market system make all our lives better and easier. Traditional values keeps society from going into chaos. Otherwise it would just be a jungle.  That’s why we need all three legs.

*Actually, the two are linked together. Without free will there would be no morals, because you couldn’t choose between right and wrong like the non-human animals. They operate completely on instinct.