The main difference between moderates and conservatives lies with each type’s commitments. On the face of it, one might confuse a moderate’s desire to resist political extremes for a conservative’s desire to preserve traditions and eschew immoderate behavior. Whereas moderates tend to think in narrow, pragmatic terms on a given issue, conservatives tend to defer to institutions they believe have embedded wisdom. In short, moderates tend to think in practical terms while conservatives hew more closely to principle.

There will be overlaps between conservatives and moderates to the extent that a moderate ‘leans conservative’ on an issue. Likewise, as we suggested above, both conservatives and moderates seem to resist extremes (albeit for different reasons). So although moderates and conservatives are different types, each can masquerade as the other. After a time though, principled conservatives might feel betrayed by moderates who seem to abandon their principles to “work with” other types.