Take a step back and read how fucked up your projection is here. Most Americans, let alone socially conservative ones, are not just avoiding stealing because they would get caught.
> I was in Tokyo briefly and its very, very different than being in NYC or Chicago.
NYC and Chicago are about as far as you can get from “socially conservative”, so it’s not clear what your narrative actually is here.
They aren't "socially conservative" in the "I hate gay people" way, but they certainly have the dog-eat-dog look-out-for-number-one fuck-you-got-mine American culture down pat. They're just more blatant about it than the "bless your heart" public-face-goes-to-church-and-is-friendly/private-face-exploits-their-employers rural American folks.
Yeah, in that light, these social conservatives do seem pretty bad.
as always, the out group is awful.