Why Does the Fight Matter?

Why does the fight matter? Why do people dedicate their time, careers, and lives to defending conservatism? Why does the Madison Center exist? To answer this question, we first must know what we are fighting against. Conservatives are fighting against the modern left, but more importantly, they’re fighting against the ideas of socialist and communist governments. At its core, the practical applications of conservatism are to support free speech, free markets, and limited government, making its chief enemies socialism and communism. It is no secret that socialist and communist styles of government have been tried repeatedly and have gone up in flames every time. The history of the Soviet Union is one example of what happens when socialist regimes rule. In the early 1900s, Russians were angry, starving, and dissatisfied with their government. World War One only made living conditions for Russians worse, and in 1917, the people had had enough. Revolution sprang up all over the country, and by 1922, the USSR was officially formed and would go on to include up to 15 countries. The Soviet Union was the furthest thing from the utopia it was advertised to be. Between the Bolshevik Revolution, famine, the Great Purge, World War Two, and other circumstances, nearly 100 million citizens of the Soviet Union died during its short life of 79 years. Millions were executed, many starved, and this grand experiment was a total failure. I could spend pages writing about North Korea, China, or other communist countries. Every situation leads to the same outcome; millions of people who are poor, starving, or dead. If this is the history of communist and socialist countries, then we should have nothing to worry about concerning a socialist movement here in the United States. Unfortunately, the numbers say otherwise. The nation’s largest socialist organization, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), has chapters in each of the fifty states, with over 100,000 members across the country. That number may seem small, but that doesn’t mean socialism isn’t a threat. While originally founded in the 1970s, the growth of their organization has been mostly in the past ten years. In 2016, there were only 8,500 members. Today that number is over 100,000, meaning their organization has grown nearly 1100% in the last ten years alone. A July 2026 poll from the Cato Institute said that over half of Gen Z holds a favorable view of socialism, more than those who prefer capitalism. There are several possible reasons for this shift in the nation’s view of socialism: failure of education institutions to talk about socialism from a historical angle, lack of knowledge about American history and government, dissatisfaction with current conservative administrations, and delusional hopes of a peaceful utopia are some of the possible reasons. These areas are where conservatives need to fill the gap. First, we need to change the way children are educated in the United States. Public schools need to teach accurate lessons about the history of socialism, while also teaching in depth the history of our government and country. Beyond reforming public education, private school and homeschooling need to be de-regulated and school choice given back to the parents. If parents are aware of their child’s education and children are learning the history of American, socialist, and communist governments from a young age, they will be less likely to call for socialist revolution. Second, conservatives need to change the way they present themselves in the public eye. Our fight for truth does not change: above all, our principles must remain the same. Our tactics are what needs to change. So many young people are drawn to socialism because they believe the lie that they will be taken care of, that someone wants the best for them and will get it for them. Conservatives need to not only represent truth, but represent it with the love of Christ. Treat people as Jesus would, love them above yourself, and don’t become embittered by the war we are in. Lastly, conservatives need to remind the next generation that hopes of a communist utopia are completely delusional. The last two points work together to achieve this third point. We first remind people of the history of socialism, we treat them with the love of Christ, and we follow that up by explaining that we live in a fallen and broken world. Jeremiah 17:9 says the heart is deceitful and beyond cure, so even if we try our best for freedom, peace, and equality among everyone, we can never achieve it on this side of heaven. Wicked men will steal, kill, and destroy, no matter what form of government they are living under. True hope and abundant life on this earth can only be found in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Life will not be perfect, our earthly circumstances may not even be good, but true hope is found in Him: a life completely of peace, love, and goodness will be awaiting us on the other side of eternity.