As you might suspect, I am an avid Glenn Beck listener. One of the things that he persistently talks about is Progressivism and what he considered to be its evils. Hearing about this over and over, I have wondered what is Progressivism? I have been looking into it and I have decided that no matter what you think of it it is critical to understand what it is because it is the basis of the society in which we were living.
Progressivism started at the turn of the 20th century as a way to combat many of the social ills of the time. The people were looking for "reform" as they called it to alleviate many of the problems which were brought about by industrialization. Many of these efforts have brought us the security that we enjoy today including women's right to vote, child labor laws and food safety standards. These are all things that we take for granted and no matter what size of government we prefer we are very grateful for these guarantees because they improve our quality of life. However, this was also the time when special interest groups came into being as well as the growth of the administrative bureaucracy that is still growing to this day.
Also, it is important to remember that the main focus of progressives is to eliminate all social ills and the means they use to do that is through coercion by popular opinion or laws. Link and McCormick stated in their book Progressivism that, " The same basic drive for control motivated nearly every movement for social reform for the progressive era. Progressives sincerely believed that justice depended on social control."pg 103 I see this playing out in so many of the issues that we are being confronted with right now. For example, if you don't believe in gay marriage you must be a bigot or using compact fluorescent bulbs is the right thing to do and if you are not doing it you are hurting the earth for everyone.
Both Barack Obama an Hillary Clinton identify themselves as Progressives as well as many of the more liberal leaning legislators. This is another reason why it is essential to understand this aspect of history and the framework that has been set up by progressives to control social issues. This is a very complex issue and I feel that it needs to be understood so that we as citizens can act in our own best interest and advocate for issues that our important to us. Also, understanding Progressivism can help us to elect officials who will act in our best interests as well. Honestly, I am still forming my opinions on this topic. Let me know what you think.
Here is an excellent outline of the basic history of progressivism:
http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture11.html
This is the book I read:
Link, Aurthur S. and McCormick, Richard L., Progressivism, Harlan Davidson Arlington Heights, Illinois, 1983.
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The fact that Glen Beck speaks out against Progressivism is the heart of the problem with today’s Republican Party. It is backwards. Republicans should be taking the lead in new and better ways to live and govern ourselves. Who was President at the turn of the 20th century? Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican and probably the most Progressive politician this country has seen since Abraham Lincoln. Progressive Republicans make large positive lasting changes. Lincoln the Emancipation Proclamation and the National Army, Roosevelt with conservation, consumer protection, and breaking the trusts, Eisenhower the national highway system, and Regan supply side economics and breaking the cold war. The Republican Party will continue to waver until someone emerges and clearly states our basic issues in a clear and strong fashion and does not waver. This “everyman for himself” attitude that pervades Republican policy clearly shows we have lost our way. We need a leader that is not afraid of a good fight. In Lincoln’s day Republicans were called ”Black Republicans”, and this was not a positive thing. Lincoln did not shy away from this, and by sticking to what was right, he wore down Douglas in the debates and emerged as the voice of the party. I say let’s take the lead again in the issues of abortion, jobs and international trade, taxes, the size of the government, terrorism, and the issue we started over a hundred years ago, the environment. What a proud moment it will be when a Democrat hisses at someone that they are a Progressive Republican.
ReplyDeletegandruk seriously... I have to ask- are you completely ignorant or just an antagonizer? How would it benefit our country if both parties were the same? You already have a party, just accept it. You can argue semantics all day long but it won't change the fact that right here during this present time the things you are so strongly advocating are represented by the Democratic party. The things that we (Conservatives) fight just as hard for are "supposed" to be represented by the Republicans. Feel free to argue your side all you want and us conservatives will do our best to fight back and hopefully (as history has shown in the past) we'll be able to meet somewhere in the middle with some pretty dang good ideas. Please don't be so facetious.
ReplyDeleteI rest my case. It is Republicans that brought the issues of social justice, the environment, corporate responsibility, individual responsibility, and a version of Capitalism that allows individuals (small businesses) to flourish. The fact that it raises the hackles of “Conservative” Republicans that these issues are raised proves my case that the party has lost its way. The Democratic Party would have us all working at our $9 an hour or government jobs and have someone like Nancy Pelosi think for us. If you are truly a Conservative Republican you have to want the power to be back with the people and trust the outcome. That’s what Ronald Regan did by cutting taxes about 26% and restricting government intervention in our lives. If you’re so worried about the status quo, the join the Democrats. We have allowed the big four (Walmart, Target, Sears, and JC Penny) to dismantle our economy under the guise of competition. What it really was is avoiding our labor laws, environmental laws, and our safety laws. It has gotten to the point where this week’s issue of Business Week says we now don’t even have the capability to design anything here because so much of the process is abroad. Hmmmm, I wonder what Teddy R would say about that? What a gargantuan lack of Corporate Responsibility. We need a muck raker and trust buster that will call them as they see them and stop these short sighted policies, and end them is such a way that the businesses respond, not the government. This will not happen until our “Conservative” voters open their eyes and press for the change. Unfortunately most of the people I bump into that label themselves “Conservative” should probably relabel themselves as “Selfish”.
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