What is a progressive?

[hexola]

I've heard this term used a bit.

What is it?

Is Al Gore a progressive?

Does it imply democrat?

[Cooley Hurd]

1. From my understanding (and I could be incorrect)...

...it's someone who is left-of-center, but not far enough left to be called a liberal. I believe it came into fashion with Theodore Roosevelt's Bull Moose (Progressive) Party. Of course, I could be wrong...

[HereSince1628]

3. Well, there are going to be many opinions...here is a point of disctinctio

that I think is important.

Progressives believe that society can be made better. Consequently I believe progressives are distinvtive in that they will be _advocating change_ and not merely "throw the bumbs out."

In a broad sense a progressive is interested in furthering the cause of human dignity by seeking the broadening of liberty, justice, equality.

Being progressive is much more than a range of bandwidth on the left-right political spectrum or an attempt to slip out of the label liberal.

[nuxvomica]

7. That sounds right to me. I think of it as "pragmatic liberalism"

A liberal wants the poor to be fed because no one should go hungry. A progressive wants the poor to be fed because that creates a more stable and productive society.

[TahitiNut]

2. The opposite of congressive?

:silly:

I think it means whatever the person using it wants it to mean.

Compare ...
http://www.pdamerica.org/
http://www.progressivemajority.org/

to ...
http://www.ppionline.org/

[BlueEyedSon]

4. Moyers on Progressivism (long but good)

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0610-11.htm

you can also try wikipedia and google

[nradisic]

5. Howard Dean is a progressive....

Progressive - a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties.

Progressives want to protect the rights of minorities, health care for all, the cleanest environment possible, education for all and a civilized and intellectual discussion on our future and the future of the world. Progressives care about how our own actions affect everyone from our family to folks half way around the world that we do not even know. Progressives have sympathy and empathy, unlike those other people....

[acmejack]

6. We're using it now because we are admitting the right has made liberal a

bad word! But I am a LIBERAL! I like being a LIBERAL.

[TahitiNut]

10. That's an acmefact, acmejack!

I'm a liberal ... and damned proud of it.

[CrispyQ]

13. Another proud liberal here!

I agree the word liberal has been demonized so badly that many people steer away from it. Not me!

Liberals view the world with a "we're all in this together" mindset. Regressives (that is such a perfect word for the current cabal!) view the world with a "you're with us or against us" mindset.


"When did liberal become a dirty word?"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/02/11/p/23_liberal.html

[meegbear]

8. Someone who can think ahead of the curve ...

while not being an asshole.

[CrazyForKucinich]

9. A progressive is someone who has goals and and doesn't listen to polls.

Progressives have ideals(gay-marriage, end of death penalty, end of poverty, etc...)...these people differ from other polictians by the fact they don't listen to poll numbers to shape their agenda. There are few progressives in congress and the term should only be applied to those who actually are progressive: Kucinich, Conyers, etc...

[jarab]

11. From my Korean War readings, the Chinese interpreted the word

"progressive" as one who espoused the Communist belief system. This term was used freely when categorizing POW repatriation status.
...O...

[Finder]

12. Someone who believes in progress...

in society, education, economics, etc...

No affiliation with any particular party although many dems are progressives today. There are many repub progressives who are labeled moderates. Progressives belong on the spectrum between liberal and conservative.

I for one, would love to see a Progressive party rise to compete with our current corporate system.

[OzarkDem]

14. Sherrod Brown on liberal vs progressive

from an interview in American Prospect earlier this year.

"Let me talk a little bit about Ohio and the kind of election I think this is going to be and the way I think progressive candidates should begin to approach campaigns like this. I will run a race that you will know from the moment you cover it is a progressive campaign. I never run from the term liberal, but I look at it…to me, there’s a major distinction between the terms liberal and progressive and that’s why I call myself a progressive. A liberal is someone who supports LIHEAP programs because indigent seniors need help with their home heating bills. A progressive is someone who supports LIHEAP programs to challenge the power companies, and who thinks that sometimes the energy companies are price gouging. A liberal is someone who wants a good Medicare prescription drug benefit, better than the one we have, that really helps seniors and subsidizes seniors’ prescription drugs, but a progressive is someone who supports those same programs but also wants to challenge the power of the drug and insurance industries. And that’s how you will see my campaign this year as it unfolds -- a very populist kind of campaign. "

http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=11274

[Strawman]

15. It means different things to different people

To some it's just another word for liberal because they're too afraid to embrace the L word. The L word itself is problematic because today's economic liberals (in the classical sense) are neo-liberal Republicans.

To others it might reflect an affinity with the Progressive Era reform impulse. The feeling that we're in a second Gilded Age and that the rich and powerful have destroyed the equilibrium of American society.

Personally, I don't know if I'm a progressive or a liberal. Truth be told, I'm probably a socialist and if that's too foreign for some American sensibilities, I should probably just tell those people to kiss my ass. That's hard to cop to in this country. Even many socialists have to put little adjectives in front of the S-word like "democratic" to dress it up. I don't know, I just think that people do have positive rights. They are entitled to a basic, humane standard of living and some things such as health care, education, housing ought to be universally guaranteed. That's socialism and it's good.

[deutsey]

16. That this is even a question demonstrates the poor job the left has done

in defining itself to a large audience.

[hexola]

17. the term seems to have come out of dormancy...

I'm hearing it more and more...

[deutsey]

19. It's been around for a while

I began identifying myself as a progressive in the '90s as a way to align myself with grassroots movements countering the corporatism that was co-opting aspects of liberalism.

[Idioteque]

18. Progressive is another name for a social liberal or social democrat.

Liberal can mean a center-right "market liberal" or "neoliberal" or a center-left "social liberal". The word progressive is more precise.

Of course that is where most of the arguments in progressive circles come from. Liberals are more likely to support free trade where as more lefty progressives support protectionism. Liberals are less likely to support nationalization than farther left progressives.