Conservatives preach liberty but practice socialism
Conservatives blast socialism yet defend state schools, the military, and subsidies. They’re statists wearing red jerseys.
Conservatives love to call Democrats socialists, and they’re not wrong. Progressives want the state in healthcare, housing, education, energy, the whole nine yards.
But here’s the uncomfortable question: Aren’t conservatives socialist, too? The short answer is yes. They just don’t realize it.
If socialism is state ownership and coercive taxation funds public “services,” then conservatives embrace plenty of it. They just slap patriotic or “local values” branding on top.
The public school paradox
Nothing proves the paradox like schools. Conservatives will blast them for “woke indoctrination,” then turn right around and vote for the next school levy. At least that’s the case in my region.
They mock universal healthcare, which I’m not complaining about, yet cling to socialized schooling like it’s a constitutional right.
What’s the difference? There isn’t one. Both are state-run taxpayer-funded monopolies.
They crowd out private competition and exist through coercion, not choice. The only distinction is packaging. Conservatives see schools as wholesome, traditional, community pillars. But peel off the nostalgia, and it’s the same socialism they claim to oppose.
“Our” socialism vs. “theirs”
The truth is, conservatives don’t hate socialism. They just hate other people’s socialism.
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When the welfare check goes to an unemployed city dweller, it’s theft.
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When it goes to a farmer in the form of subsidies, it’s “supporting the heartland.”
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When bureaucrats regulate small businesses, it’s tyranny.
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When they hand out million-dollar contracts for local schools or highways, it’s “investment in the community.”
It’s the same central planning and redistribution. But conservatives bless it if it flows through their institutions.
The military, Medicare, and more
It doesn’t stop with schools. Conservatives treat the military as sacrosanct, even though it’s the most bloated socialist program on the planet, costing trillions in taxpayer dollars funding a standing army to police the globe.
And what about Medicare and Social Security? Many red counties depend on those checks.
Call them socialism, and conservatives snap back: “Well, I paid into it!” Which is the same argument progressives use to justify every welfare scheme ever created.
The pattern is clear: The conservative base thrives on government programs, then condemns the left for doing the exact same thing with different priorities.
The inherent contradiction
So are conservatives inherently socialist? In practice, yes. Many believe in:
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State-run education
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State-run retirement programs
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State-run policing
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State-run roads
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State-run borders
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State-run militaries
Strip all that away, and what’s left? Lip service to free markets.
Conservatives rail against socialism only when it’s wrapped in blue-state packaging. When it’s their version of socialism — local, traditional, patriotic — they defend it with religious zeal.
The libertarian contrast
This is where libertarians break from both tribes. We’re the only ones willing to say: If socialism is bad, it’s bad across the board.
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If it’s theft to fund someone else’s healthcare, it’s also theft to fund your neighbor’s kid’s schooling.
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If it’s tyranny to regulate private businesses, it’s tyranny to regulate who can teach without a state license.
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If coercion is wrong, it doesn’t suddenly become right because your team benefits.
You can’t cherry-pick. You can’t claim to oppose socialism while voting for it in your own backyard.
Conservative socialism is real when it’s wrapped in a flag
Conservatives aren’t against socialism. They’re against socialism they don’t control. Their problem isn’t coercion — it’s who directs the spoils. Until they admit that, they’ll keep playing the same statist game, just with red jerseys instead of blue.
What do real free markets look like, where everything, from schools to even local law enforcement, are all privatized? I have a theory, and it’s one big reason why I wrote The Arcane Prophecy, a young adult libertarian fantasy that answers those difficult questions.
Our fearless protagonist, Yote Diamondback, finds herself in Aurora Village, a northern region of her home country where everything’s market-driven. No, the society ain’t perfect because no society can be perfect.
But it’s a hell of a lot better than coercion upholding institutions so many people have been conditioned to think are sacred and must be funded through theft.
You can meet Yote in my free prequel novella, Arcane Awakenings, where she lives out her last days of middle school while battling mean girl cliques and defending teachers who are arrested because they “threatened unity.”
