Was Eisenhower Soviet agent? That extraordinary accusation came from John Birch Society founder Robert Welch, who believed President Dwight D. Eisenhower was secretly serving Communist interests. But economist Mark Skousen, nephew of the famous conservative author W. Cleon Skousen, thinks the accusation was outrageous.
https://youtu.be/5Hol7hUZExc
Don’t miss our other conversations with Mark Skousen: https://gospeltangents.com/people/mark-skousen
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Gospel Tangents
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Mark explains why he rejected the John Birch Society’s allegations, where he disagreed with his uncle, and how a surprising conversation about Adam Smith changed his understanding of economics.
We also revisit the controversial BYU spy ring, Ezra Taft Benson’s relationship with Ernest Wilkinson, and the importance of academic freedom.
Was Eisenhower Soviet Agent Secretly Helping the Communists?
During the Cold War, some American conservatives became convinced that President Eisenhower wasn’t doing enough to stop Soviet expansion.
Robert Welch, founder of the John Birch Society, went much further. In his book The Politician, he accused Eisenhower of being an agent of the Communist conspiracy.
Why would anyone make such an extraordinary claim?
Mark explains that Eisenhower repeatedly avoided direct confrontation with the Soviet Union, including during international crises such as the Hungarian Revolution. Critics interpreted his restraint as evidence that he was deliberately allowing communism to spread.
But Mark sees Eisenhower’s strategy differently.
He argues that Eisenhower understood the Soviet economic system was fundamentally flawed and believed it could eventually collapse without risking a nuclear war.
Rather than seeing Eisenhower as a traitor, Mark gives him high marks for his presidency.
Mark’s rejection of Welch’s accusation is particularly interesting because his uncle Cleon Skousen was closely associated with the same conservative political movement.
Uncle Cleon and the John Birch Society
W. Cleon Skousen became one of America’s best-known anti-communist authors through books such as The Naked Communist and The Naked Capitalist.
But how closely was he connected to the John Birch Society?
Mark explains that Cleon defended the organization and even wrote a pamphlet titled The Communist Attack on the John Birch Society.
However, Mark says Cleon never officially joined the organization and eventually experienced a falling-out with it.
Mark himself never became a member.
He believed the society’s accusations against Eisenhower went far beyond legitimate concerns about Communist infiltration.
This raises an intriguing question: How could two members of the same family, both committed to free-market economics and opposed to communism, reach such different conclusions?
The Naked Communist vs. The Naked Capitalist
Mark’s disagreements with Uncle Cleon extended beyond the John Birch Society.
He strongly admired The Naked Communist, believing it offered an important warning about the dangers of communism.
But he was much less impressed with The Naked Capitalist.
One reason was Cleon’s portrayal of powerful business figures such as David Rockefeller.
Mark had personally interviewed Rockefeller while working for Forbes and didn’t see him as the sinister figure portrayed in some anti-communist accounts.
Although Mark disagreed with Rockefeller’s support for larger government, he didn’t believe that made him part of a sinister conspiracy.
It’s a revealing distinction: Mark could appreciate his uncle’s contributions while rejecting some of his more controversial conclusions.
But there was another disagreement in which Uncle Cleon unexpectedly changed Mark’s mind.
Was Adam Smith Inspired by God?
While writing his history of economic thought, The Making of Modern Economics, Mark initially adopted economist Murray Rothbard’s critical interpretation of Adam Smith.
He wrote a chapter portraying Smith in a largely negative light.
Then he visited Uncle Cleon.
Mark handed him the chapter and asked whether he was on the right track.
Without even reading it, Cleon put his arm around Mark and told him that Adam Smith’s doctrine of the invisible hand was inspired by God.
Mark was stunned.
Whom should he believe—his respected professional mentor, Murray Rothbard, or his wise old Uncle Cleon?
Instead of simply accepting either opinion, Mark decided to investigate for himself.
He read all 1,000 pages of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations.
And when he finished, he concluded that Uncle Cleon was right.
Mark rewrote his chapter, transformed the structure of his book, and ultimately dedicated it to Cleon.
It’s one of my favorite stories from the interview because it demonstrates how disagreement can lead to serious investigation and a genuine change of mind.
Ezra Taft Benson, Ernest Wilkinson, and the BYU Spy Ring
Our conversation also returns to a controversial episode from Mark’s student days at Brigham Young University.
During Ernest Wilkinson’s administration, students were recruited to monitor professors whose political and economic views concerned conservative university figures.
Mark discusses Wilkinson’s close relationship with Ezra Taft Benson and their connections with the Foundation for Economic Education.
Did Benson encourage the monitoring effort? Was Wilkinson responsible? And what did the students actually discover?
Mark discusses what he remembers, while acknowledging that he cannot establish exactly who initiated the effort.
He also reflects on his own participation.
Looking back, Mark believes the students were naive. He says he would not participate in such an effort today.
Interestingly, he doesn’t believe the episode resulted in professors being fired, although he acknowledges the controversy that followed when the monitoring became known.
Why Academic Freedom Matters
Perhaps the most unexpected part of the interview is Mark’s defense of intellectual diversity.
He recalls a conversation with Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman about whether free-market economists should dominate university economics departments.
Friedman opposed that approach, arguing that universities should expose students to competing viewpoints.
Mark agrees.
He discusses the importance of intellectual diversity at BYU and contrasts his experiences teaching at Columbia University and Chapman University.
For Mark, a university should be a place where students encounter ideas they disagree with—not merely a place where everyone reinforces the same worldview.
That principle also helps explain his complicated relationship with Uncle Cleon.
He admired his uncle without agreeing with him on everything.
Can We Admire Someone Without Agreeing with Everything They Say?
What makes this interview especially interesting is that Mark Skousen doesn’t fit neatly into the political categories we often use.
He can praise The Naked Communist while criticizing The Naked Capitalist.
He can admire Uncle Cleon while rejecting the John Birch Society’s accusations against Eisenhower.
And he can defend free-market economics while insisting that universities should welcome competing perspectives.
Perhaps the most important lesson is that intellectual independence requires more than disagreeing with our opponents. Sometimes it means questioning the people we admire most.
Watch Part 2 of our four-part Gospel Tangents interview with economist Mark Skousen to hear these stories in his own words.
What Do You Think?
- Why do you think Robert Welch and other conservatives became suspicious of President Eisenhower?
- Was Mark right to reject the John Birch Society’s accusations?
- Do you find Cleon’s claim that Adam Smith’s invisible hand was inspired by God persuasive?
- Should religious universities encourage professors to teach competing political and economic viewpoints?
- Is it possible to admire someone deeply while rejecting some of their most important ideas?
Share your thoughts in the comments. I’d especially like to hear how you think we should evaluate controversial historical figures whose ideas continue to influence Latter-day Saints today.
Don’t miss our other conversations with Mark Skousen: https://gospeltangents.com/people/mark-skousen
Copyright © 2026
Gospel Tangents
All Rights Reserved
0:00 The Naked Communist vs. The Naked Capitalist
3:58 Adam Smith Inspired of God?
8:37 Ezra Taft Benson, Wilkinson and FEE
11:44 Why Mark Wasn’t a Bircher
12:02 Robert Welch and Eisenhower
14:16 Cleon and the John Birch Society
15:51 Political Diversity and Academic Freedom
20:02 Fallout from the BYU Spy Ring
21:18 Academic Freedom at Columbia and Chapman
