Conservatism goes beyond states rights and economics. It's also cultural. Conservatives tend not to like multiculturalism or cultural change, and tend to like things like gender roles, immigration tests, and just generally keeping things the way they were. Rational and compassionate people can have these opinions too, yet they are suppressed on pretty much all social media sites including Reddit.

When people with moderate cultural views and opinions get suppressed, they cling to the nearest groups with the closest mindset to their own. Unfortunately, on sites like Reddit, these are often extremist subreddits.