Beyond the glitzy main stage and high profile speakers, a real highlight of CPAC was getting to meet and chat with many Young Republicans; our ideological brethren from across the Pacific. There was a very youthful energy among the crowd at CPAC in stark contrast to the unfortunately rather geriatric conservative movement at home and many of us Global Explorers were curious to see why.
While leading the Liberal Club at UNSW, I have seen first hand the generational threat to conservatism in Australia. When the membership of our country’s main right-wing political party has a median age well past that of the retirement age, it is simply impossible to propose policies that appeal to and benefit the average ordinary Australian. Most Australians are put off by “culture war” issues and vote based on economic issues.
However, this where an aging conservative movement bites particularly hard. Australia’s taxation system rewards speculation over productivity and the established over the aspiring through some of the highest income taxes in the OECD and the most generous concessions for foreign multi-nationals and owners of non-productive assets. This system that brutally stymies social mobility should be the antithesis of a right-wing movement that values capitalism and reward for work. Instead, the right in Australia is dominated by the very beneficiaries of this system who have no incentive to change things. Without the presence and voice of aspirational patriotic youth, the conservative movement in Australia is condemned to electoral doom and the long-term dominance of left-wing governments who will continue to undermine our institutions and reward handouts over hard work.
The situation is very different in the United States. Donald Trump’s populist conservative movement was swept into power twice by a youthful wave of resentment towards the elite establishment and a desire to see their country put first. A far cry from the conservative movement at home that protects elites, the conservative movement in the United States is sending a message to the elite that they shall reign no longer.
The second Trump term in particular has led to stark institutional reform. Universities no longer discriminate against Asians and Whites in the name of “racial justice”, almost every major company is once again rewarding merit by abandoning DEI and activist judges and district attorneys are being curtailed as law enforcement are finally allowed to do their jobs again. All of these victories and so many more are made possible because conservatism in the United States is being driven by workers and students, not retirees. Their messages are not primarily propagated by a geriatric political machinery, but by young energetic social media personalities and expansive youth networks like Turning Point USA. Conservatism does not belong to stuffy smoke-filled rooms in ivory towers as is the perception in Australia, but is a mass movement accessible to all.
The lesson from CPAC is one as old as time: evolve or die. Conservatism in Australia is existentially threatened by age and elitism. If we ever want to taste the success of our friends in the United States, we must be brave enough to question our ways and fundamentally transform our entire movement.
The Global Explorers program is made possible by the generosity of our CPAC donors. Applications for 2027 will open later this year — stay tuned for details.
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