For a generation of young conservatives coming of age in an increasingly polarized America, President Ronald Reagan can sometimes seem like a relic. His name is invoked at conservative conferences, his face appears on palmcards at events, and his speeches are endlessly quoted. Yet some Generation Z conservatives have begun asking a reasonable question: Why should we still care about a president who left office nearly four decades ago?
The answer is simple: because Reagan helped define what modern American conservatism could look like. And many of the principles he championed and causes he fought against remain equally relevant today.
Reagan understood that conservatism was not just about shrinking government. It was about preserving the institutions that make a free society possible: the family, the workplace, the community, the church, and the nation itself. His famous declaration that “government is not the solution to our problem — government is the problem” was not an argument for abandoning society. It was a warning against allowing Washington to displace the people and institutions that give Americans purpose and responsibility.
That message should resonate with Gen Z.
Young Americans are confronting a housing crisis, declining marriage rates, economic uncertainty, cultural fragmentation, and a growing sense that the institutions they inherited no longer work for them. The answer cannot simply be another government program. Conservatives should be building an agenda that makes it possible for young people to work, marry, raise families, buy homes, and build meaningful lives.
That is where Reagan’s legacy still matters.
Reagan believed that economic freedom should benefit working people. His tax cuts, deregulation, and emphasis on economic growth helped produce an extraordinary expansion during the 1980s and 1990s. His optimism also mattered: He believed America could once again be confident in itself, proud of its history, and unafraid to pursue its interests.
That patriotism is especially important today.
Gen Z conservatives should not conflate patriotism with nostalgia. Loving America does not mean pretending that its government has always been competent or that every decision made by conservative leaders has been correct. It means believing that America is worth preserving and improving.
And Reagan certainly made mistakes.
The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which granted legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants, deserves serious scrutiny. Conservatives can reasonably debate whether the legislation ultimately created incentives that contributed to the immigration challenges we face today.
But acknowledging those shortcomings should not require rejecting the broader ideals Reagan represented.
No president should be treated as an infallible saint. Reagan himself would probably reject that idea. The task for Gen Z conservatives is not to replicate 1981 in 2026. It is to take the best of Reagan’s conservatism and apply it to the problems of our own time.
Reagan defeated communism in the Soviet Union. Now, we must confront the growing threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party.
He fought against socialism abroad. Now, we must push back against the socialist policies taking hold in some of America’s largest cities.
But the most important part of Reagan’s legacy is not any particular policy. It is his confidence in America — and his conviction that each generation has a responsibility to preserve the freedom it inherited.
In his 1967 inaugural address as governor of California, Reagan offered a warning that remains remarkably relevant nearly 60 years later: “Freedom is a fragile thing, and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. … Freedom must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.”
That was Reagan’s challenge to his generation. Today, it is ours.
Gen Z and Gen Alpha conservatives do not need to choose between Reagan and the future. We should study his successes, acknowledge his mistakes, learn from both, and carry forward the principles that made his conservatism so enduring.
Reagan understood that freedom is never guaranteed, and neither is America’s future. It is now our turn, and our obligation, to defend both.
Jake Matthews is the program manager for the Heritage Foundation’s Young Leaders Program.