As an attempt to create an intellectual or political mass movement, conservatism is pretty much dead. Why debate about a word and who the conservative intellectual authorities are? Conservatives tried to play the mass politics game through the use of mass media, but what success did they have, especially against enemies more adept at using the mass media and capturing institutions, tools needed for indoctrinating urban mass population centers, which by their very patterns are opposed to true communal living and communitarian solutions? How many conservative intellectuals devoted time to trying to rebuild community in the places they live? Publications are insufficient for producing republican virtue -- there must be a living community that trains the young and provides the social nexus for people to grow in virtue.
Populism seems like it is here to stay, but it may be a populism cares less about principles, ready to embrace socialism if it promises to benefit the average American. The destruction of community and the churches has also left its mark on red America, who may be willing to accept the victories of their enemies in sexual matters and some of the identity politics issues.
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