Samuel Gregg and minimum differentiation

Our class discussed how a location model can be used to analyze how parties position themselves to acquire a majority. A classic Hotelling finding that Downs analyzes is a minimum differentiation solution between two parties, but do we really see that today?

I'm reading economist Samuel Gregg's book "The Next American Economy." Despite current polarization, he claims both parties have systematically questioned the use of free markets. He thinks conservatives, who once championed free markets, now brand their government intervention as "populist" or "economic nationalist."

Gregg's description shows the two parties are closer to 0.5 in a Hotelling model than what we may think. But this is far from a "democracy works because of minimum polarization" finding: Gregg is concerned that Americans have lost sight of the previous century's free-market enthusiasm.