Why do conservatives hate government? - the follow-up

A couple posts ago I asked the question "Why do conservatives hate government?" and offered a few theories. After realizing that Theory #4 was a bit of a joke, the commenters rated the other three.

Among the conservative commenters, Theory #1 - the "Rugged Individualism Theory" - proved to be the most popular, which is not surprising, because it's the most generous to conservatives; it depicts them as basically do-it-yourself enterprising hard-working types who don't want the government holding them back in the name of equality (John Galts, if you will). Theory #2 - the "Small Town America Theory" - received lukewarm support from conservatives, since it depicts them as sympathetic but slightly backward figures - provincial rubes who want to protect their ancient traditional culture against government-mandated modernity. It's more awesome to be a John Galt than an Amazon tribesman, even if the latter does get to be on the cover of National Geographic more. And naturally, Theory #3 - the "Government is Code for Black People Theory" - was not readily acknowledged by conservatives, since no one wants to be a racist.

So which of the three do I think is true?

All of them.

The key is that the conservative movement is a big movement - a third of America, by most counts - and no movement that big is in any way homogeneous. Some conservatives are small businesspeople who feel the bite of taxes very keenly. Some are small-town folk, or exurbans, who care less about marginal tax rates than the Ten Commandments. And some - a lot, too many - are Southern whites who just can't stand those nasty dark-skinned folk invading their towns and schools and collecting government checks.

The reason I included "problems" for each theory was not to demonstrate that the theories are wrong or incomplete. It was to show that deep contradictions exist within the conservative movement.

As markets have become more globalized and competitive, companies that want to keep making solid profit margins have often been forced to turn to the government for help and support. The John Galts are discovering the Zero-Profit Condition.

As the housing bust fades and oil becomes more scarce (despite the current depression-induced price drop), the exurbs are going to largely vanish or become slums, and conservatives are going to have to move back to the cities. That means a mixing of cultures, where everyone has to respect everyone else's ways. Small-town America is in for another rude awakening.

And of course, that re-urbanization means that Southern whites are going to have to learn to do what Northern and Western whites have been doing for a century - live next to brown people. Especially Hispanics.

And that means that conservatives - no matter which kind of conservatives they are - are going to have to take a second look at government. Just saying "Government sucks! Government sucks!" isn't gong to cut it any more. It isn't going to get conservatives the things they want. Instead of simply repeating that ultra-simplistic mantra, conservatives should be thinking about how to shape the government in a way that will be advantageous to their interests.

(Next up: Why do liberals like government?)