Conservatism is totally dead now. Broadly it might be summarized as -
Prioritizing stability over change
Anti-egalitarian
Elitist
Nationalist
Pro-free market
Non-interventionist
Small government
Conservative is a bad name for the ideology. It implies ossification and stagnation when Conservatism can be just as dynamic as Liberalism/the Left, but believes in learning from the past and incremental, controlled change versus the radical remaking of the social order both the modern right and left believe in.
Gottfried points to Reagan as the murderer of Conservatism, but it's probably much older. The Old right still existed pre-Reagan, but on life support. In the states, they did little to stop the march of statism since Woodrow Wilson (Harding attempted to but did not go far enough)
In Europe, the Conservatives were in a downward spiral since the concert of Europe and the upheavals in 1848.
There are a few contentious parts to ow I summarized conservatism -
Pro-free market - conservatives have had a long history of protectionism and tariffs, BUT I think a free market facilitated by international trade is a natural extension of conservative values.
Nationalism - generally conservatives were monarchist and not nationalist but the change over happened long enough ago and is relevant to modern conservatism in a way that monarchism isn't that it is a core tenet of conservatism now.
Just looking around, there are no real conservative parties in the west. The UK, Canada, USA etc. have all embraced decidedly anti-conservative elements, rapid populism, big government, anti-free market etc. The BJP (if it ever was conservative) is becoming more big government and egalitarian.
It's very sad to see, especially as a conservative. I view it like medicine, no one likes it, but everyone wants its results.