I return every so often to the topic of Progressivism, in particular how to define it, and its many factions and how to make pursuit of Progressive policies successful.
One of the more frustrating aspects of the pursuit is the disunity among the factions. The core principles of Progressivism should be a powerful uniting force but instead, what is left unsaid is a more powerful divisive force than the core principles. Rather than reaching for and taking actions furthering the core principles, a fair percentage of Progressives spend most of their time fighting each other. Somehow, that must change.
With the assistance of Wikipedia and other sources of research, in previous articles I have been able to define the core principles of Progressivism as follows:
- Belief in a Living Wage. This concept goes far beyond what now is called a 'minimum' wage. A Living Wage means that every adult who works a full time job should be paid enough to afford decent housing, food, utilities, transportation and all the other necessities of life. It does not take a long glance at the minimum wage to determine that this does not come close to satisfying the requirements of a Living Wage.
- Universal Health Care. Simply stated, everyone who is a citizen of the United States should have, as a privilege of citizenship, full access to quality health care.
- Election Reform. Ideas like instant runoff voting and complete access by third parties to elections and debates.
- Safety Net. Layoffs, downsizing, outsourcing and to a small extent, firings for cause are a part of life throughout most of the world. People who have these things happen to them should have a government safety net to prevent them and their families from going into bankruptcy or ending up homeless until another job can be found.
- Top Quality Public Education. No parent should feel that they need to bypass their local public school and send their child/children to a private school to get the best education.
- Equal rights and Opportunity and freedom from Discrimination to all regardless of Age, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Religion, Race or Country of Origin.
- Environmental Responsibility. As Theodore Roosevelt said, "To waste, to destroy our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed."
- Pursuit of Peaceful and Friendly Foreign Policies. Wikipedia shortened this to saying that the US should want for every other country the same Progressive policies we have for ourselves. I would add to that as John Kerry said, "The United States should never go to war because we Want to go to war, but because we Have to go to war."
Most Progressives would agree that the above are the Core values of Progressivism. That is where the agreement ends. The core values do not describe positions on things like abortion and gun control, nor do the core values say definitively whether the values can exist within a capitalist system or by definition have to exist without. I have talked with Progressives who discount whether issues like abortion or gun control matter. I can assure everyone that there are a great many people who think that they do matter and in a fair amount of cases vote solely depending upon a candidates position on one or both.
There is also a primary schism between those Progressives who feel they can work within the Democratic Party to achieve the Core principles, and those that feel the Democratic Party does not and can not further Progressive goals.
Those of us in the first category believe that the Democrats have been pushing about as far as possible toward Progressivism given the political realities of our time. For instance, the south, Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia in particular seems generally against just about every single part of the core values. Opposition to their adoption would also be broad in states like Nebraska, the Dakotas, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming, just to name a few.
Even outside of the above mentioned sixteen states, the majority of the public have never been introduced to the core values (with the possible exception of Universal Health Care), let alone have they been convinced of why they are the best courses of action. In this climate, those of us who believe in working within the Democratic Party towards Progressive goals feel that the best that can be achieved is baby steps, a small victory here, and a small victory there.
The groups in the second category are of the general opinion that the Democratic Party is disinterested in the pursuit of the Core Values at best and is the same as the Republican Party at worst.
Steven Leser specializes in Politics, Science & Health, and Entertainment topics. He has held positions within the Democratic Party including District Chair and Public Relations Chair within county organizations.
Steven Leser writes for www.opednews.com, an internet only media site that has grown to become one of the highest traffic news sites in America, reaching more traffic, according to alexa.com, than all but the thirty largest daily newspapers in the US. Mr. Leser is one of the 500+ liberal pundits who, each month, are published in what has become one of the top five Liberal/progressive media sites in the US.
"One of the more frustrating aspects of the pursuit is the disunity among the factions. The core principles of Progressivism should be a powerful uniting force but instead, what is left unsaid is a more powerful divisive force than the core principles. Rather than reaching for and taking actions furthering the core principles, a fair percentage of Progressives spend most of their time fighting each other. Somehow, that must change."
How wonderfully and concisely put. Those have always been my complaints about political groups I've tried to be active in. Even ones working for the same cause, like all the anti-war groups that are out there-- I've seen too much of them fighting with each other over petty things instead of uniting behind our *shared* cause and getting things done. I couldn't help but be turned off by that, and I'm pretty stubborn and hard to shake off so I can't imagine how many other people have walked away for this same reason. I think Maya Angelou sums it up well by saying "Human beings are more alike than unalike."
When I was first reading your list of Progressive principles my first reaction was "well that's the Green party right there" but then I went on to read why you don't think it's a good idea to put a political party behind it. And it makes complete sense. Not to mention the negative connotations people have with the words "Green", "Libertarian", and even "Independent". However, aren't there plenty of negative associations with the term Progressive? Most people equate that with Liberal and god forbid anyone be a liberal right now! How do you think we can address that problem?
Either way, sign me up.
by
peacechicken (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 10 comments)
on Tuesday, January 2, 2007 at 11:01:16 AM
1 comments
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