The rise of the "Conservative Movement" in the US has been on the back of the backlash to the Civil Rights Act and "dogwhistle" racism that can be rationalized away by the elements of the pre-Reagan Republican coalition that would be driven off by overt racism.

That provides much easier frame for attacking the social safety net, and so to a certain extent the American "Conservative Movement" has never needed to learn those lessons.


I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.