The label and the ledger pull apart

Two GSS series, 1974–2024. Symbolic conservatism is the share placing themselves conservative minus the share placing themselves liberal (polviews 5–7 minus 1–3). Operational liberalism is the share wanting more government spending across the social battery.

Symbolic conservatism (cons − lib, right axis) Operational liberalism (want more, left axis) 2021+ web mode

Takeaway: the country leans a little more conservative by its label while leaning more liberal by its ledger — the two lines never meet, and the gap between symbol and substance is the subject of this essay.

Both series weighted (weight_use). Symbolic margin from 29.3% conservative vs 30.5% liberal in 1974 (a −1.2-point margin) to 35.4% vs 27.5% in 2024 (+8.0). Operational liberalism from 50.9% (1973) to 59.3% (2024). Per-year symbolic n = 770–4,333; operational n = 486–4,019. Source: GSS, 1972–2024.

Four kinds of American, and the conflicted conservative is the second-largest

Self-identified conservatives and liberals (GSS, recent pooled), split by whether their social-spending preferences are operationally liberal or conservative. Cells sized by share of the conservative-plus-liberal public; moderates excluded. n = 32,329.

Takeaway: the conflicted conservative cell — symbolically right, operationally left — holds 23.3% of the ideological public, larger than the consistent liberals and more than half again the size of its mirror image, the conflicted liberal.

Cells sum to 100.0% of the symbolic-conservative-plus-liberal public; moderates (polviews = 4) excluded. Consistent conservative 31.9%, conflicted conservative 23.3%, consistent liberal 29.7%, conflicted liberal 15.1%. Source: GSS, weighted.

Schooling reconciles the label with the ledger

Among self-identified conservatives, the share who are operationally liberal (the "conflicted conservative" share), by highest degree. GSS, recent pooled.

Conflicted-conservative share

Takeaway: among conservatives who never finished high school, nearly half hold operationally liberal preferences; among those with a graduate degree, fewer than a third do — the better-schooled bring symbol and substance into line.

Per-cell n of self-identified conservatives: 2,713 (<HS) to 1,512 (graduate); total conservatives n = 17,495. Source: GSS, weighted.