AvengingTiki

There was a forum thread a little while ago that asked what the differences between liberal and progressive are. You can find the thread on this page.  To sum up that post: the 'liberals' of today are basically a result of the New Deal ushering in a torrent of changes that defined a political philosophy for 65+ years.  It focused on getting aid to people.  Progressives are more concerned with regulating and protecting a functioning system, and helping where needed.  This focuses a lot more on economic issues than classic liberals did.  I've been thinking about this for a couple of weeks now and I had some other thoughts I wanted to write down about progressivism.  This is not meant to be an academic style paper.  This is a declaration of a belief, an attempt at defining something complex and constantly changing.  So while many might not agree that this is a strong definition of progressivism it is my version of the philosophy.

Progressivism as it exists today in the modern American political sphere is all thanks to Bill Clinton, though he is not the only one to thank.  Clinton taught the Dems how important money is and showed the power of well-managed compromises.  So with that in mind I feel that it is necessary that I thank Newt Gingrich.  Let me be clear I am thankful Gingrich helped show Clinton the value of a strong economy, by forcing him to cut spending.  Gingrich, however, was not trying to revolutionize the Democratic Party he was trying to hold one of the greatest Legislative revolutions of all time.  But he built the new Republicans on a foundation of corruption and lies.  This beginning is why the party spun out of control, going from the top of political power in 2000 to utter disaster in eight years (and Bush bears a large responsibility but you are letting too many people of the hook if you blame it all on him).  America was ready for Progressivism in 2000; the popular vote went to Al Gore.  They were at least willing for a test drive of it.  Eight years later and millions upon millions of Americans are chomping at the bit to try Progressivism out for real, for the first time.  Why though does progressivism appeal to so many, and from such ranging backgrounds?  The answer lies in the key beliefs of progressivism.

Progressives want (shock) 'progress.'  It is the word that defines them.  For there to be progress though one must admit that there are good overall outcomes and bad overall outcomes.  In short progressives do not believe in the zero-sum theory of the world.  There is good and there is evil, though extremes of either are not common, unlike what many would have you believe.  Progress requires a direction to head, a set of goals that would make things better as opposed to worse.  To accomplish this progressives look at politics in a very interconnected fashion; a fact due in large part to the internet and it's ability to move information (a creation whose political champion was early progressive-convert Al Gore).  Progressives are tinkering creatures.  They find an idea, a system, a committee, a legal doctrine, something that they think works, and will find a way to try and absorb it with the good parts of another system.  This is much easier said than done and requires a more complete understanding of issues and sometimes making large compromises for the greater sake of progress.  Though as with good and evil there are extremes. there are rules that cannot be broken, though they are not common, unlike what many would have you believe.

Progressives sometimes piss people off, especially other progressives.  There are some core elements that bind us but lots of grey area that is not as defined.  I think progressivism is partially successful because of the grey that exists; it creates a lot of room for compromises to be made.  The core issue of ‘progress,’ is the focal point of what holds these people together.  They are people who want to progress things, who want to help people, and who are willing to put some differences aside to get it done.  This is why young evangelicals are intrigued by progressivism; they don't want to be two issue voters. It feels wrong when progressives are the people pushing to enact the most 'Christian' policies; helping the poor, protecting the environment, equality.  Progressives are the ones trying to create a system of abundance instead of a system of scarcity.

I'm very excited about the potential of progressivism but am not naive enough to think this idea is a panacea for the World's ills.  It will take everyone doing what needs to be done to sustain and endure.  Progressivism is simply the newest system of popular thought with a road map.  I just so happen to think, however, that it's the best map out there.