I'm not sure they ever meant anything concrete. The editor of the local newspaper has been conservative longer than I've been alive, and still wrote opinion pieces arguing in favor of trans rights, BLM, marriage equality, and other modern "conservative" rage points from what he considered conservative first principles. His argument boiled down to: people who spent decades screaming about people coming for their rights can't turn around and deny rights to others.

Most conservatives I've met are not like that. What does the word mean when two people can have such contradictory understandings?

For example:

>> "If you think about it, communism is all about: one book, one news channel, one social media controlled by the government."

I've never met a communist who would agree with this, but I'm sure they exist. The communists I know are more about forming communities and cultures of mutual support by mutual consent, and they read lots of books.

It seems you haven't run the process you used to reach your feelings on liberal and conservative on other terms. This word is just as hard to pin down.