I’ve been trying to find an answer on that question myself for years. A lot of the other comments so a good job of scratching the surface but there just isn’t enough text to really explain the full concept completely. If you really want to really dig deeper, here are some books that might help. They helped me. Bottom line is it’s smart for conservatives to do this based on their end goals because it’s effective.

The All New Don’t Think of an Elephant! by George Lakoff, covers the strong father theory which is much of what’s described in other comments.

The Dictator’s Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, talks about the principles of authoritarianism and helps understand how the authoritarian structure in nearly every major company has lead to this.

The Origins of Political Order by Francis Fukuyama, explains why stability at the cost of equality is what political machines often evolve into.

The Revenge of Power by Moisés Naím, explains how authoritarianism works and why it needs us vs them to thrive.

Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam, a good view of blame based politics, why and how it works.

Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me) by Tavris & Aronson, helps explain why people are attracted to the conservative message.

Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti, explains how capitalists exploit the view that poverty is a personal falling so they can continue wage theft and rent seeking.

The Coddling of the American Mind by Haidt & Lukianoff, a deep dive of the modern conservative mindset and helps answer how and why we got here.

Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen, shows how this has been going on for longer than we’ve been alive along with the attack on education and sort of shows why that’s effective.

The Progress Paradox by Gregg Easterbrook, helps explain why “the sky is falling” narrative conservatives like to use is attractive to us.