The mistake that keeps getting made is using "conservative" as a synonym for "Republican". The Republican party used to be the conservative party, generally tru

The mistake that keeps getting made is using "conservative" as a synonym for "Republican". The Republican party used to be the conservative party, generally trusting in institutions and gradual change. They trusted in institutions so much that they supported the Iraq War because the status quo power structure told them it needed to be done. There is nothing conservative about the current Republican party. Basing your vision of society on how you imagine things were 70 years ago is not conservative - rather it entails drastic radical change. Essentially the Republican party is now better described as populist reactionaries (Moldbug's own term), who gave up on conservatism because they got frustrated from things changing at all. With how things currently are, the Democratic party is more appropriately referred to as the conservative party. Despite having its own contingents of extremists pulling in various directions, they're essentially still being kept in check by the status quo power structure - for better and for worse.