Disconservatism

Overview

Disconservatism is the name CWRE has designated for American right-wing political "conservative" authoritarianism in order to distinguish it from legitimate, fact-based forms of conservatism.

Disconservatism is in many ways the opposite of true conservatism in that it tends to destroy vital institutions and waste vital resoures, rather than conserving and spending wisely.

Disconservatism is one of the major varieties of wingnuttery, and among the more dangerous at the political level.

Name

In the United States, the ideology which self-identifies as "conservatism" is actually a gross misnomer.

First, it bears very little with "conservative" ideologies in other countries; second, it seems to be completely uninterested in "conserving" anything except power for the few -- and the fewer, the better.

It primarily operates by inventing "truths" which then cause its followers to reach fallacious conclusions regarding public policy, and to vote accordingly -- while antagonizing those of us who know better and (because of the disconservative reality inversion effect) preventing any kind of meaningful dialogue between the two worldviews.

Characteristics

Disconservative habits include:

• tribalist beliefs: basing beliefs on what others around them believe, rather than reasoning independently to reach conclusions
• Antiepistemics: defending beliefs in the face of evidence, rather than updating beliefs to match evidence
• use of meaningless insults
• belief that life is fair
• focus on perception-based thinking

Disconservatives often believe that Democrats buy the votes of minorities with government handouts (welfare) and then view any minority individual who does not ally themselves with liberal/Democratic causes as a traitor. The phrase "going off the reservation" is sometimes used to describe such perceived disloyalty. Disconservatives of this ilk apparently find it obvious that minority votes were not (indeed, could not possibly be) obtained by legitimate means but rather via some form of mind-control, since any thinking person would be a disconservative.