What is Progressivism?

"He who considers wealth a good thing can never bear to give up his income; he who considers eminence a good thing can never bear to give up his fame. He who has a taste for power can never bear to hand over authority to others. Holding tight to these things, such men shiver with fear; should they let them go, they would pine in sorrow. They never stop for a moment of reflection, never cease to gaze with greedy eyes — they are men punished by Heaven."

—Chuang Tzu

Progressivism is a political movement that represents the interests of ordinary people in their roles as taxpayers, consumers, employees, citizens, and parents. To coin a phrase, progressivism champions government "of the people, by the people, for the people."

Given this mission, one might expect all democracies would be made up predominantly of one or another progressive parties.

Unfortunately, this isn't the case for the most part.

Why? Because economic elites emerge in every society and seek their own interests, all too often against those of taxpayers, consumers, employees, citizens, and parents. By definition, elites enjoy greater wealth, and therefore influence, than the ordinary citizen, and they typically attempt to exploit these advantages politically, using them as leverage to obtain still greater wealth and influence. And since the desire for wealth and power is rarely satisfied, there tend to be recurring cycles of concentrated political and economic power, together with the corruption that invariably attends these. One such was seen in the United States around the turn of the 20^th century. At the turn of the 21^st century, the US is in the midst of another. (For a briefing on the makeup of the cabinet of the Bush presidency, follow this link.)

In general, then, Progressivism stands at the opposite pole from economic elitism, and has enjoyed its greatest support and successes precisely when the injustice, exploitation, arrogance, and greed of elites become intolerable.

For further details concerning Progressivism, we recommend The World of Hope: Progressives and the Struggle for an Ethical Public Life, by David B. Danbom. This study emphasizes the connection between Progressivism, core American values, and the difficulties confronting attempts to bring those values to bear on politics in the face of a recalcitrant and corrupting business sector.

(See also: class conflict, democracy, populism, plutocracy, oligarchy, and the links below.)

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Discuss your progressive ideas or ask questions concerning Progressivism at the Progressive Living discussion board. Review a brief history of American Progressivism An essay describing one vision of what an ideal Progressive society might look like Have a look at a Progressive (Green Party) web site Have a look at a timeline of American history outlining the events leading up to the development of Progressivism Go to the Progressive Living Field Guide to Politics Go to the Progressive Living Field Guide to Economics Some possible elements of a Progressive lifestyle Go to the Progressive Living preamble to see our mission statement Go to the Progressive Living site map for an overview of the rest of the site Go on to the essay on Humanism (which provides the values upon which progressivism is founded) To e-mail this page to a friend, click here