And that ain't easy.

Number one, this man is not a "conservative."

Number two, the tone was not condescending, it was just a list. And frankly, it covers a lot of territory accurately. Economics and politics are not primaries, but are consequences of specific philosophies, something I have always had trouble explaining here.

You deride him having the nerve to "explain" it that way, but I guarantee you won't find a lot of people willing to talk about the architecture of Western civilization down to the foundations, which go back many centuries. Sure as hell, not in our schools.

To hear most people talk, things like democracy and economic systems are no more than flavors you pull off a shelf like kinds of ice cream, with no more connection to an underlying concept than that. From that standpoint, the arguments between things like socialism and capitalism have no more meaning that two people arguing over whether chocolate is better than pistachio. Most people seem to be comfortable at that level, with no worries about an idea being "right" or "wrong."

You can take it or leave it. You're probably more perceptive than the average person, and maybe you legitimately felt like you were being talked down to. The entire essay can be found here, and maybe it will work better with some context. On the other hand, maybe it will just piss you off worse.