Gen Z hasn’t rejected Conservatism, just a form of it
By Easton Martin | December 31, 2025
Gen Z is not rejecting conservatism. It is rejecting neoconservatism, and for good reason. The Bush era promise was to spread democracy abroad, police the world, and prosperity and stability would follow at home. Instead, what Gen Z inherited was endless war, national debt, and cultural decay.
Neoconservatism asked Americans to sacrifice blood and treasure for abstract ideals while multinational corporations and defense contractors reaped the rewards. Iraq and Afghanistan were sold to the public as a sure thing, necessary even. Instead they became cautionary tales. Trillions were spent, thousands of lives were lost, and the Middle East is no more stable than before. Meanwhile, American cities hollowed out, wages stagnated, and a generation came of age during the financial crisis and cultural chaos.
Gen Z sees through the performance. They watched Republicans preach fiscal responsibility while funding forever wars. They watched leaders talk about freedom while expanding surveillance and federal power. They watched “playing nice” with global institutions produce nothing but weakness, dependency, and endless compromise that always moves the country left.
This generation is skeptical of globalism because it failed them. Shipping jobs overseas did not create opportunity. Foreign wars did not make America safer. Deference to international bodies did not preserve sovereignty. Neoconservatism promised order, and it did deliver that, but it was just the globalist order of old.
If Republicans want to win Gen Z, the answer is not softer rhetoric or rebranded talking points. It is realism; Secure borders, a restrained foreign policy that puts American interests first, economic nationalism that rewards work at home instead of outsourcing it.
