Conservatism is not, in itself, evil.
At its best, it is a stabilizing force. In moments of crisis — war, economic collapse, or social upheaval — the conservative instinct to hold steady, preserve what works, and resist rapid change can serve a society well.
It buys time to regroup and reorient before resuming the forward march of progress.
But as a lifestyle, a way of life, an argued design of one's, of all's reality, it rapidly becomes toxic.
As we're seeing today...
When conservatism overstays its welcome, it becomes corrosive. It stops being about stability and becomes about fear. And fear, once enthroned as the guiding principle of politics, does not merely stall progress — it corrodes courage, narrows imagination, and breeds submission.
Fear as the Engine
Conservatism in moderation counsels caution. Conservatism in excess weaponizes fear. Instead of meeting new realities with courage, it teaches retreat. It whispers: hold back, trust nothing, cling tighter. What begins as prudence slowly becomes cowardice.
And cowardice demands protection. To maintain its fragile sense of safety, overextended conservatism turns to controlling others. Fear of change becomes laws against new ideas. Fear of difference becomes discrimination. Fear of losing control becomes censorship and authoritarian policing of culture.
When a coward is elevated to office under the guise of providing safety, that safety quickly shrinks to one person: the leader. For everyone else, it becomes restriction.
Conservatism’s Self-Consuming Engine
Conservatives often describe liberals and progressives as reckless dreamers, naïve idealists, or dangerous radicals. They cast themselves as the sober adults in the room, standing guard against chaos. That perception is comforting — but it is also an illusion.
Because when conservatism holds power unchecked, it reveals its true nature. It is not about balance, nor about protecting institutions for the good of all. It is about preserving itself. The engine of conservatism is designed to absorb, consolidate, and restrict — and once in motion, it feeds only on its own desire to survive.
This is why every unchecked conservative movement drifts toward authoritarianism. Fear is the fuel. Control is the method. Self-perpetuation is the goal. It presents itself as restraint, but in practice it consumes freedoms, narrows rights, and hollows out democracy.
Today’s Republican Party is the clearest example. It no longer seeks to conserve the best of America — its democratic ideals, its pluralism, its spirit of innovation. Instead, it devours those very ideals to protect its own survival. In calling liberals reckless, conservatives fool themselves. The recklessness lies not in progress, but in the refusal to move forward.
Why Conservatism Works Best as a Curb
It is better for conservatism to act as a curb to progressive liberalism than the other way around.
Progress is Motion, Conservatism is Resistance
History shows constant forward movement — in science, rights, technology, and social expansion. Progress is the natural engine of society. Conservatism works best as the brake pedal: slowing, checking, and questioning momentum when needed, but not stopping it outright.
Conservatism in Power Consumes
When conservatism is the driver, not the curb, it tends to overprotect the status quo. It hoards power, preserves hierarchies, and chokes adaptation. This self-protective instinct eventually undermines democracy.
Progress Can Absorb Correction; Conservatism Cannot Absorb Growth
Progressive movements can survive conservative restraint — reforms may be delayed or slowed, but they eventually move forward (civil rights, suffrage, labor protections). Conservatism, however, cannot absorb progressive expansion. It collapses under the weight of change it refuses to accept. Hence, it resorts to fear, repression, or authoritarian control.
The Balance
Conservatism is safest when it serves as a curb on progress — applying caution and restraint — rather than progress being forced to act as a curb on conservatism. Because when progress curbs conservatism, the result is outright confrontation. And when conservatism resists too hard, it doesn’t just stall; it risks breaking the very system it claims to protect.
The Slide Toward Authoritarianism
History shows what happens when the conservative spiral accelerates. In 20th-century Europe, movements overwhelmed by fear of modernity embraced authoritarian strongmen who promised protection. Fear became not a defense but a weapon, wielded against outsiders, minorities, and dissenters. Fascism did not arise from courage; it arose from conservatism metastasized into permanent fear.
The danger is not confined to history books. Wherever conservatism becomes the permanent state of governance, it risks the same degeneration. Fear-driven politics invite leaders who thrive on control, offering safety in exchange for obedience. The result is always the same: diminished freedom, hollowed-out democracy, and citizens taught that survival means submission.
Progress as the Antidote
The antidote to fear is not more fear, but courage. And courage is inherently progressive — it seeks solutions, embraces adaptation, and welcomes the new as necessary for survival. America itself was born from a radical act of progressive courage: the rejection of monarchy, hierarchy, and divine right. If the Founders had thought like today’s conservatives, America might never have existed.
So yes, conservatism has a role. It is the pause button in times of distress. But it must never be the default setting. Because when fear becomes the permanent fuel of politics, the engine inevitably drives toward repression.
Conservatism should be the brace in the storm, not the chains that bind us afterward. When it rules by fear, it stops being conservative at all — and becomes the seedbed of fascism.
The Abuse of Conservatism and the Abyss Ahead
In its healthiest form, conservatism is a stabilizing influence. But what we’ve witnessed over the past decades in America is not conservatism in its original sense — it is the abuse of it.
The language of tradition has become a shield for corruption. The appeal to stability has become a justification for stagnation. And fear has become the main tool of control.
Out of this distortion rose Trump — not an anomaly, but the inevitable consequence of a political culture addicted to fear and resentment. His promise was not to conserve anything meaningful, but to tear down democracy itself under the guise of “saving” it.
Millions followed. People who once trusted conservatism as a philosophy of caution were swept into a movement that mocked institutions, undermined truth, and embraced authoritarian instincts. They were told democracy itself was the enemy if it did not bend to their will.
Now, what remains of that movement drifts further into the abyss. It is no longer about limited government or prudent restraint. It is about raw power, loyalty tests, and dismantling the very system that allowed it to rise.
The abuse of conservatism created Trump — and Trump now consumes what’s left of conservatism.
Those who follow him are not conserving America. They are helping to end it.
Cheers! Sláinte! Na zdravie!
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