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Comment by spacemanmatt | Hacker News Reader

No, there isn't. Conservatism typically comes down to some enormous misconception about how the world works. It's intellectually bankrupt.

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This comment's a bit flippant, but yeah, I've found a consistent ability to produce a steady string of never-addressed "but, wait, what about...?" questions on my part as a defining quality of writing from the libertarian-leaning intellectual set. That Friedman's writing would prompt a reaction like frgtpsswrdlame's is entirely typical of the genre. I continue to be unsure which explanation for this behavior is most charitable.

There's a reason why Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead" starts with a protagonist who's healthy, adult, fully educated and credentialed, and also a straight white dude.

It sells a fantasy that lots of people find palatable, like one of those "get skinny with no effort!" device or drug commercials.

I'm pretty sure conservative politicians understand better than their counterparts in other parties how to win elections, which is an aspect of the world they care deeply about.

This is libertarianism, not conservativism

> Conservatism typically comes down to some enormous misconception about how the world works.

No, it just uses those as sales pitches. Conservatism has always been about reinforcing the position of existing elites, but you can't really market it to non-elites on that basis.

> Conservatism has always been about reinforcing the position of existing elites

The elites play both sides of the field. Why wouldn't they?

I would suggest that the elites who deploy conservative propaganda are not practicing conservatism any more than they are fooling themselves.

Conservatism as a distinct thing was born in the defense of pre-existing elite position by appeal to nationalistic and religious tradition, innate superiority of certain classes of people, etc., in the face of the rise of classical liberalism. The propaganda has changed slightly over time (though it still often boils down to the same factors), but the defense of the position of the entrenched elites is the constant over time in conservatism.

Everything else is window dressing.

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