I have seen several studies that indicate that conservatives are at least equal to liberals in intelligence. The problem is that the more intelligent a conservative is the more likely he is to cling to his preconceived notions. The truly intelligent conservative is extremely capable of compartmentalizing his beliefs and justifying them with involved yet faulty logic. It is sad really, to see such highly evolved folk so constistantly fooled into accepting non-reality and non-logic.
the problem with statements like yours is that the labels liberal and conservative are entirely subjective.
there is no accepted definition of liberals or conservatives, so any claims of "research" of scholarly study on these issues is dubious.
you lay out claims that conservatives are simply fooling themselves,, while pretending that liberals always have the right idea. sometimes the left can be dead ass wrong, and change for change's sake can be poisonous to a society.
if the left was always correct, then eastern europe would be a workers paradise of stateless communist utopia.
70 years or marxism turned the already struggling societies of eastern europe into a shithole of despair. 70 years of marxist experimentation not only disproves the ideals of marxism but makes clear that marxism is a scam. but the left still sells marxism as the solution.
THAT is self-delusion, but worse, it's a delusion that demands others join in or be put against the wall as counter-revolutionaries.
the left is not a shining lyceaum for brilliant minds seeking enlightenment, most often the left is a haven for greedy, grasping bastards with all the ethics and morality of a used car salesman.
