John Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience (2006)
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Social conservatism and neoconservatism have revived authoritarian conservatism, and not for the better of conservatism or American democracy. True conservatism is cautious and prudent. Authoritarianism is rash and radical. American democracy has benefited from true conservatism, but authoritarianism offers potentially serious trouble for any democracy.
— John Dean on Conservatism
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Social conservatism and neoconservatism have revived authoritarian conservatism, and not for the better of conservatism or American democracy. True conservatism is cautious and prudent. Authoritarianism is rash and radical. American democracy has benefited from true conservatism, but authoritarianism offers potentially serious trouble for any democracy." in the context of "John Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience (2006)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Conservatism" (Quotes, D)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About John Dean
John W. Dean III (born 1938) was White House counsel to Richard Nixon from 1970 to 1972. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal and his subsequent testimony to Congress as a witness. His guilty plea to a single felony in exchange for becoming a significant witness for the prosecution resulted in a reduced prison sentence. After his plea, he was disbarred.
About John Dean
John W. Dean III (born 1938) was White House counsel to Richard Nixon from 1970 to 1972. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal and his subsequent testimony to Congress as a witness. His guilty plea to a single felony in exchange for becoming a significant witness for the prosecution resulted in a reduced prison sentence. After his plea, he was disbarred.
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