Conquest Theory: Explained

Exploring the political and cultural realities we face as a nation

“Power changes its appearance but not its reality.” - M. de Jouvenel “On Power”

Conquest Theory was born out of my desire to understand and explain the political and cultural challenges we face as a nation. Unfortunately, our current political elites frequently and deliberately obfuscate reality, which has had incredibly destructive effects on our society.

This publication’s name is inspired, in part, by historian Robert Conquest’s "Three Laws of Politics." These laws offer thought-provoking insights into the behavior of individuals, organizations, and institutions within political environments. Although initially created to address authoritarian regimes and ideological changes, their importance extends to broader conversations about human conduct, power dynamics, and the operation of societies.

Below is an explanation of each law, along with a corresponding real-world example.

1. Everyone is conservative about what he knows best.

Conquest’s first law explains that people are often hesitant to embrace change in areas where they have experience or familiarity, and so they desire to protect or conserve what they know. This applies to both sides of the political spectrum.

This is not to be confused with “conservatism,” as we have all witnessed its failure to conserve anything. Instead, this applies to any person or community that is naturally (and instinctually) protective of the ideas and values they hold dear.

An illustration of how this law is relevant to the left is with the progressive who displays a "hate has no home here" yard sign. No doubt most leftists advocate for unrestricted immigration into the United States, but they also take measures to ensure their gated communities remain unaffected by immigration policies and would not appreciate, nor tolerate, the effects of low-income housing on their property values.

Case in point, it took less than three days for the residents of Martha’s Vineyard to send newly arrived Venezuelan “migrants” off to a Cape Cod military base.

2. Any organization not explicitly right-wing sooner or later becomes left-wing.

The second law emphasizes that organizations, institutions, and groups without well-defined ideological principles and hierarchies (along with strict gatekeeping) gradually adopt left-leaning or progressive positions over time. This is thought to be due to a perceived moral or social obligation to conform to prevailing progressive trends.

Ideologically we can see this from the right, as “conservatism” has, in many ways, become libertarian on many social and economic issues, which is yet another reason why the right has failed to conserve much of anything.

But we can see this drift on the left as well. One needs only to listen to a speech by Bill Clinton on curtailing illegal immigration back in the 1990s or even Barack Obama in 2004, who openly opposed same-sex marriage. Considered liberals at the time, many of their social stances would be considered “conservative” today.

3. The simplest way to explain the behavior of any bureaucratic organization is to assume that it is controlled by a cabal of its enemies.

According to Conquest's Third Law, bureaucratic organizations, particularly in oppressive or authoritarian regimes, sometimes behave in ways that appear counterproductive or damaging to their own declared aims. Robert Conquest proposes that these organizations may be influenced by individuals whose motivations are at odds with the organization's official objectives.

The clearest example of this can be found in the actions of various companies, like Anheuser Busch, Disney, Target, etc., that are willing to forgo profit for woke initiatives and messaging. Beer sales may tank, movies may bomb, and stores may be boycotted, but this is seemingly of no concern to management. This begs the question, “Who is running these companies?” It surely looks like those not interested in advancing the primary purpose of the business (making a profit) have taken control and are leading them to ruin.

I'll be putting together a separate piece on Conquest's Laws as there is so much to unpack here, but each one of these laws sheds light on our current political landscape.

But "Conquest Theory" carries with it another meaning.

Put simply, the people of the United States are being ideologically conquered by a social phenomenon known as "wokeism" and culturally conquered through uncontrolled immigration, designed to intentionally diminish America's sovereignty and, ultimately, its very identity. Exploring the “how” and “why” of this reality is the main purpose of this project.

Numerous organizations in both the public and private sectors, including school systems across the country, have implemented policies that endorse ideological concepts such as "Critical Race Theory," "gender ideology," "environmental, social, and governance," "diversity, equity, and inclusion," and "social and emotional learning." While some are genuinely committed to promoting these concepts, others may fear negative repercussions for failing to implement them, such as legal action, public criticism, or a lower ranking on the Corporate Equality Index.

As the nation undergoes these significant social and political changes, the Global American Empire is also expanding its influence by promoting these liberal "values" worldwide. This is resulting in a drain of America's resources and causing instability in other countries, much like it has in our own. One needs to look no further than the Russo-Ukrainian War for a dangerous example of what American liberalism’s influence on foreign policy can do, as there is seemingly an endless supply of money and weapons available to Ukraine so long as they are willing to keep dying in America’s proxy war with Russia.

Pivoting to economics, the offshoring of American Industry has put the United States in a position where its leaders are threatening war with China over Taiwan to protect its semiconductor industry. In the late 1940s and 1950s, America led the world in semiconductor manufacturing. Today only 12% of semiconductors are made in America, while 80% are made in Asia. For its part, Taiwan makes 60% of the world's semiconductors and over 90% of the most advanced ones.

Strategic ambiguity has morphed into overt support of Tawaineese sovereignty, leading to calls for NATO-like security guarantees for the island. NATO, whose original purpose was to provide collective security to Western nations against Soviet aggression, has now morphed into a defacto-American security blanket that aims to guarantee “democracy” across the world.

It’s not enough that America’s liberal economic policies have decimated America’s industrial capacity and subsequently destroyed its communities located in “flyover” country. Now the desire for cheap consumer goods may lead the nation into a devastating war with another nuclear power.

Decline is not inevitable. It doesn't have to be this way.

Brexit and the election of Donald Trump were two seismic events that contradicted Francis Fukuyama's claim that the success of Western Liberal Democracy after the Cold War had led us to "The End of History." These events, along with many other examples, have proven that we have actually reached the end of liberalism, rather than the end of man's ideological development.

Liberal “democracy,” as we understand it today, is not the final chapter in man’s political story.

John Adams believed the American Constitution was created solely for a moral and religious society. If we fell short of this standard, the idea of self-governance would fail. Well, I’m sorry to report that we are obviously falling WAY short on this front, which leads to the inevitable question of, "What comes next?"

Answering that very important question, along with analyzing our current political landscape, is the aim of this Substack. In the near future, I plan to offer a podcast that will include articles as well as interviews with insightful thinkers who will provide their own valuable perspectives. I hope you’ll consider subscribing (and sharing with others!) as I’m committed to making it worth your time.

We can't fight what we don't understand.

Welcome aboard.