The conservatives keep making the same mistakes over and over again because they would not learn from history.
For every change, good or bad, there is a reason; and unless one understands these reasons any attempt to roll back the change would re-create the conditions that lead to the change, resulting in there being strong movements to make the change again.
We saw the conservatives attempt to re-create the 19th century economic conditions - and, surprise surprise, we are seeing again a global wave of socialist agitation and worker protests such as what took place in early 20th century. We saw the conservatives attempt to re-create the 1950s social conditions - and, surprise surprise, we are seeing 1960s-style movements suchas the Occupy protests and Slut Walk. This is not only predictable; this is inevitable. Rolling back a change re-creates the conditions that led to the change, which leads to the impetus for the change taking place yet again.
For both early 20th century situation and 1960s, there were very real and palpable reasons. The person who does not understand that will only be again committing the failures of the past. There were reasons for what took place in early 20th century, and there were also reasons for 1960s. Not understanding that there was a reason, or giving a wrong reason such as claiming baby boom generation to be evil or Woodrow Wilson to be a Communist, will result in the changes that one rolls back being put into place yet again, by yet another generation.
The brutal and dangerous working conditions, the violent and oppressive treatment of women, the corrupt business practices, and blind destruction of nature, under Victorianism, was the impetus for the progressive wave of early 20th century. If these things are again recreated, as many on the Right want to do and have done, we will see similar progressivism taking place - yet again. The dogmatic, conformist, authoritarian and repressive conditions of 1950s were the impetus for 1960s; and if those things are again re-created, as many on the Right want to do and have done, we will see 1960s happening - yet again. The conservatives pride themselves on knowing history, but their behavior does not reflect that knowledge. They want to go back to some time in the past, but they have no idea why things have changed since that time. And the more they go back to the parts of the past that they favor, the more they will recreate the parts of the past that they do not.
What this means is as follows. These people need to get a clue. If you roll back a change, you re-create the conditions that led to the change, and there will be people wanting to make the change again happen. If one believes a change that was made to have been wrong, one at least needs to understand the reasons that it took place. And if one wants to bring back something from the past, he also needs to understand why it is no longer in place.
Only then can one make for any kind of a successful policy.