There is a place for actual conservatives, people who want to change things slowly and make sure we aren't breaking shit with our changes.

But what calls themselves conservatives these days would be more accurately referred to as reactionaries, who want to reverse many changes that have been made and go back to some old time they preferred.

I am not sure if the relabeling of reactionaries into conservatives was always a global phenomenon, I think in many countries, at least until recently, conservatives were really just conservative and not reactionary. But I can't say for sure.