- With further reference to their vision of "community," progressives can convey the important message to millions of struggling conservative Americans that they seek to so transform the aims of government that distrustful conservatives can relate to it in new and more positive ways. Rather than fearing an invasive, dominating government moved machine-like by its own self-interest, conservatives can credibly view a progressive government as a democratic partner genuinely committed to the well-being of its citizens.
- Given the commitment of a progressive government to serve the common good, conservatives need no longer persist in the "rugged individualism" that has been getting them nowhere in an economy dominated by powerful corporate interests. Instead, they can look forward to government programs that go beyond mere income supplementation to actual empowerment. Such programs will give them real control of their future through new economic opportunities that will allow them to create and prosper in accordance with their own skills and efforts.
- Finally, simply placing individual policy proposals in the moral context of building community can give them all greater weight and impact. Each proposal will be understood to represent not simply another government program, but a necessary step in creating a more humane society. From this, it will also be clear that the legislative action required to turn each proposal into law will no longer be driven by the demands of profit-hungry corporations, but by the needs of the common good.
Of course, even if their proposals are grounded in a moral vision, progressives may not be able to convert to their cause hardened Tea Party-type conservatives who believe any government programs pose a threat to their personal freedom. Nor will they sway any individuals with a vested interest in the current political system. However, by combining their proposals with reasoned spiritual aspiration, progressives may well find it possible to gain the support of millions of Americans who are either politically alienated or economically struggling, including cultural conservatives. Many of these people are now, as never before, feeling the pinch of low, stagnant, or reduced wages, and beginning to recognize for the first time that America's "little guys" are getting systematically screwed. A good portion of them will undoubtedly perceive that it is now in their own self-interest to join progressives in building an entirely new social system geared to economic fairness and the common good. The progressive narrative will also appeal to a smaller group of non-political but "born" progressives whose better angels tell them there are higher possibilities for human society than a continual struggle of all against all for a livable piece of the economic pie. Such struggle is in any case, as current data show, a lost cause for many in the lower segments of America's ninety-nine percent.
Progressives Need the Help of Conservatives To Build an American Community
Whatever challenges may be encountered, I believe strongly that the infusion of progressive values in our political debate, and, ultimately, progressive leadership of our national government, are critical to America's future. That's because, as I see it, it is only progressives, inspired by the creative wellspring at their moral center, who have the necessary vision to conceive and drive social change in the interest of the common good. That can never be the work of conservatives, who by their nature strive instead to defend existing interests and beliefs that give them their sense of identity.
At the same time, it should not be forgotten that a proper conservative role in government is also indispensable. That role is not, however, as it has been so markedly throughout the Obama years, simply to block or seek to destroy all government programs designed to benefit ordinary people. It is, instead, to refine them, if needed, to more closely meet the practical requirements of effective implementation. This is a task for which the conservative mindset is far better suited than its inspirationally-based progressive counterpart. In legislating, as in all acts of creation, the vision must come first, but then the forms by which it can be best and most fully realized. It is only by combining the creative powers of progressives and conservatives that transformative change for the common good can be made workable in the real world.
Conservatives in every walk of life demonstrate their practical capacities every day in the most familiar ways. For one thing, they are the natural generators of wealth--our entrepreneurs, business executives, and bankers. They are in most cases, too, our policemen, firefighters, and nurses. In their devotion to "family values," they help to remind progressives of the important roles of tradition, family, friendships, and work in supporting our lives with beauty and stable points of reference. And, on the political front, they can play a useful role in the legislative process by making sure that visionary initiatives for change are not excessive in scope or pace, and will actually win the acceptance of most Americans.
At the same time, of course, progressives hope that their vision of governance for the common good can induce many conservative leaders to stretch their sense of connectedness and obligation beyond personal claims and attachments, to the greater American community--even the global community. To do that, however, conservatives need to broaden their capacity, over a wide spectrum of issues, to "walk a mile in the other guy's moccasins" and to recognize that, just as their own privileges and freedoms would not be possible without the consent and labor of the broader community, so they are morally obliged to reach out to the needs of that community. This is especially true now in America, where a tiny minority enjoys riches beyond imagining, while millions of others--certainly most of them through no fault of their own--find themselves increasingly insecure economically and politically powerless. Fortunately, a small overlap of shared psychology offers some hope that the progressive appeal to the cause of human community might elicit at least some positive response from conservatives.
Building a Mass People's Movement
In reality, only a progressive president and a majority of committed progressive lawmakers can effectively solve the problem of America's extreme economic inequality. It must be recognized, however, that both progressive governance, and the reforms it would seek to implement, represent revolutionary change--far beyond any conceivable change resulting from transitions between the two mainstream political parties. It is therefore almost certain that no progressive government can be elected without the preparatory stir, support, and consciousness-raising of a massive people's movement--one mobilized on many fronts and in many places throughout America to protest chronic joblessness, underemployment, insufficient pay, reduced upward mobility, and today's obscene income inequality.
A few years back, the Occupy movement began to attract some public attention to these issues, but, with an eye to still open possibilities in 2016, that start must now be broadened to include the full range of socio-economic and age groups in the American body politic. Only a mass movement of the people, taking actions that range from letters to the editor, phone calls and emails to congressmen and senators, to marching in the streets, can create an environment of support in which committed and politically talented progressives like Bernie Sanders can be persuaded to run for federal offices from president on down. Only with such support can they wage effective campaigns and, by winning, actually and seriously pursue policies that could bring American society closer to the realities of economic fairness.
Today, many progressive activist groups are already hard at work mobilizing a people's movement to promote progressive legislation in Congress and lay the groundwork for a people's movement to promote and support progressive policies, candidacies, and campaigns in 2016. I believe those efforts can be made more successful in two ways already suggested in this paper. One is to balance the necessary, but negative, calls to "break up the banks" and rein in the Koch brothers with an equal emphasis on the positive implications of progressive policies and governance. The second is to coordinate a common set of positive progressive messages with as many other activist groups as possible.
I've already suggested in this paper how I believe progressive candidates for federal office can enhance their chances for a fair hearing from the many millions of politically alienated non-voters and struggling conservative voters who represent a very large part of the potential voter pool to which they must appeal. I've proposed that, in view of the disregard and suspicion of government expressed by these groups, it might be effective campaign strategy to sharply distinguish progressive policy proposals by linking them to the rarely invoked visionary goal of building an American community. In conjunction with that concept, I've suggested that progressives should emphasize their commitment to governing for the common good--not for "narrow special interests," but for "the broad common interest." I strongly encourage the many progressive activist groups now looking to 2016 to consider a coordinated mutual use of the "common good" theme in building and directing a progressive people's movement.
Let me suggest still another theme relating to the vision of progressive "community" that I think has great positive appeal and can be used effectively in building a progressive movement. This is the progressive pledge to restore a right most working Americans have long taken for granted, but which, given current economic circumstances, many now fear they have lost: namely, the freedom to control and shape their own economic future.
Progressives have already advanced policy proposals designed precisely to remove the causes of this fear. Bernie Sanders, for instance, has advocated government help for unemployed, underemployed and underpaid workers that goes far beyond mere income supplementation. It would create worker co-ops that empower proud individuals to take the initiative and shape their own economic future. Bernie touts the program this way: "We need to provide assistance to workers who want to purchase their own businesses by establishing worker-owned cooperatives. Study after study shows that when workers have an ownership stake in the business they work for, productivity goes up, absenteeism goes down, and employees are much more satisfied with their jobs."
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