this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2023
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Asklemmy
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As I've gotten older I find myself being more of a conservative in the true definition of the term: a preference for slow and steady change, caution towards new ideas, and some amount of reverence for tradition.
The issue is that the Republican party is not a Conservative Party. Joe Biden is a Conservative. The Republican party is a party for Reaction and Neoliberalism.
Yeah, very much this. As a scientist, my place on the political spectrum ought to be looking at a proposed change that is supposed to help and demanding "prove it" (and providing said proof when possible within my field). The hard part is then being ready to accept proof when given and swap my stance accordingly from opposition to agreement. This is where conservatives have failed. (People also need to accept that in the real world it'll probably be imperfect proof and come up with reasonable expectations for what counts as adequate proof, ideally based on expert review.)
But at this point there are many good ideas (like housing-first approaches to homelessness) that are well supported by data but are being held back because of "common sense" and emotions (we can't just give people free housing!). So instead my place is sitting with the Progressives and saying "holy shit, how can we get conservatives to listen to reason?"
As funny as it seems to say, I feel that "Conservativism" is unfairly maligned. Most of the bad things about what is called "Conservativism" are not really parts of Conservativism at all but are ideologies associated with Conservativism - "Rugged Individualism", Neoliberalism in general, religious fundamentalism.
We'll probably disagree on this point (and that's okay), but you can look at China. China is a very conservative country, with strong cultural values regarding family, social conformism, and civic nationalism. It is Conservativism without Capitalism, Individualism, or Religion.