Catholic traditionalism dates back as long as you want to trace it back, even, like Carrie does, to times before the Incarnation; I only chose the Crusades because that is a relevant point in modern politics. But “Catholic” and “modern” should never be in the same sentence, and I spoke of modern conservatism. The latter is heavily laced with laissez-faire, which makes it a defensive phenomenon.
Not true. New technology makes it possible to displace traditional operations of government with free-enterprise risk management architectures. It takes an active research, development, and education process to employ those tools to that libertarian end. To operate from laissez faire is effectively to withhold those options from the electorate.
Restraining man's authoritarian instincts is an arduous task for a political leader. Socialists gripe about working class authoritarianism, yet they are the control culprits. In economic affairs, the political leader must actively fight mercantilism. Laissez-faire policies that create a productive environment for business expansion are not defensive. Conservative social policy advocates government coercion to enforce a society's moral values, going well beyond 'Lockean liberalism'.