They do not necessarily disdain government. They disdain the idea of government being used to equalize opportunities for people that they deem as "less than". Conservatives believe in a "natural social order" a hierarchy. At the top are rich, White, Protestant, men. The purpose of government to conservatives is to support that "natural order". They think that Democrats wanting to use government to set up an equalizing tax policy or a social safety net is an abomination.
Republicans want to govern, or I think more realistically, they want to rule. Government is fine to them as long as it is enforcing the existing economic and social order. They have NO problem with government as long as it is not used to force the unnatural idea that people should have equal access to opportunity and basic security.
Conservatives have been pretty successful at getting people to believe that they are successful ONLY through their own hard work (not by the successes of previous generations and the collective support of society in general). That isn't too difficult either. I feel special thinking that I am where I am because I am smarter, and harder working than other people. It feels less special to acknowledge that my parents had money to send me to better schools, that I grew up in a safe neighborhood with plenty of food, and the ability not to have to work to support my family was a youth, and that those advantages helped me to get where I am. Conservatives capitalize on those biases and get people to think that "other people" who are lazy or inferior intellects, are getting some kind of unfair advantage over them and "government" (Democratic lead) is the entity that creates this "unfair" situation.
We also know that government can be inefficient and plain and simple, not work. Conservatives actually want government to be inefficient when delivering services to the average person. They prefer to privatize the commons, except for the military, thought they have privatized much of the ancillary services in the military, like food preparation.
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