When did the USA become more conservative than Western Europe?

[buritobr]

In the present day, we can say that the USA is more conservative than Western Europe because:

Income inequality. In the USA, the top 1% earns 20% of the country's income. In France, the top 1% earns 8% of the country's income.

Social safety net. In Western Europe, the Welfare State has a much bigger share of the GDP than in the USA.

Religion. The non-religious population is much bigger in Western Europe than it is in the USA.

Death penalty. There are 50 executions yearly in the USA. The EU bans death penalty.

Gender. The share of women in the legislative branch is bigger in the Western European countries than it is in the USA.

War. The USA is much more willing to go to war than the European countries are.


But before the WW1, it was not like that. In many ways, we could say that the USA was more progressive. Income inequality was bigger in Western Europe than it was in the USA. In 1910, the top 1% earned 18% of the income in the USA and 20% in France. In Europe, there was an aristocracy. In the USA, people were born equal. USA adopted progressive taxation earlier than Europe.
Women were allowed to vote in the USA before they were in some European countries. Cecilia Payne-Gaposckin had to move to the USA because women were not allowed to study science in the universities in the UK.
Between 1781 and 1941, the European countries were much more willing to go to the war than the USA was.
Almost all the European countries had death penalty until the end of the WW2. Death penalty was kept in the UK and in France even after the WW2. While there were no executions in the USA between 1968 and 1976, the guillotine cut some heads in France.

Maybe, only in the late 20th century we could say that the USA was clearly more conservative than western Europe.

[darklordoftech]

I would say 1945.

[Lechasseur]

I would say 1945.

That sounds right.

If anything I don't think it's that the US became more conservative (I think it stayed about the same), it's that Western Europe became much more liberal due to the effects of WWII

[The Govanah Jake]

I would say 1945.

Yea and if not this then 1968 when the Great society failed to implement a fully European style welfare state

[Statilius the Epicurean]

In what sense is the US "more conservative" than western Europe? More economically liberal, undoubtedly, but I'm not sure about more conservative in general.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

In what sense is the US "more conservative" than western Europe? More economically liberal, undoubtedly, but I'm not sure about more conservative in general.

Since America's relative economic liberalism is accepted, then, when would you say America outpaced Europe in overt religiosity? To some extent, it might be fair to say that America has always had a character somewhat more outwardly religious than Europe, though I only know one side of this story. France, at least, has a notable history of anti-clericalism. That said, America might never become more "dispositionally conservative" than some parts of Europe--many of us tend to be loud and brash and individualistic.

[buritobr]

I would say 1945.

That sounds right.

If anything I don't think it's that the US became more conservative (I think it stayed about the same), it's that Western Europe became much more liberal due to the effects of WWII

agree