Progressivism: Suffering the consequences of our own best intentions.

       The reason progressivism is difficult to define (Vincent Lacy, “Progressives place nation before politics,” Yuma Sun, December 19, 2011) is that progressives take on different issues over time.  Whether right or left, Democrat or Republican, a progressive is one who believes that government can solve problems.  Progressives have an earnest desire to remake the world into something that resembles their more utopian vision.

       Theodore Roosevelt was a Republican Progressive. He objected to the laissez-faire free market philosophy of his predecessors and started the 20^th century march toward a more intrusive federal government.  He destroyed monopolies, established the FDA, and passed laws regulating workplace safety and establishing a minimum wage.

       Today’s liberal Democrats have assumed that mantel of turn of the century progressivism.   They have faith in the ability of a strong central government to reorder society and industry, stabilize, rationalize, and expand the apparatus of the state in order to achieve what they consider a more fair and just society. 

Conservative Republicans, interestingly enough, have adopted the philosophy of what was classic liberalism, committed to the ideal of limited government and respect for the constitution and individual liberties. Although we are concerned with budget deficits and adamant about not leaving our progeny with outlandish debts, we are more concerned with how the “nanny” state destroys individual initiative and undermines personal and civic responsibility. 

                Although not all conservatives are religious, they agree with at least one of principles espoused in the Old Testament, that power should not be centralized.  God confused the languages of the people who built the Tower of Babel in order to disperse them, decentralize them, recognizing the fact that, although capable of much that is good, collectively, we are also capable of hideous evil.   The millions Hitler sent to the gas chambers, the millions intentionally starved by Stalin, the millions slaughtered by Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge, as well as a myriad of similar socialist/communist regimes make that fact absolutely inarguable.  All of them were earnest in their desires to create a better society.

         Our founders were committed students of history and philosophy and after struggling mightily over issues of sovereignty, devised a system of government designed to prevent the consolidation of power and respect individual liberties and responsibilities.  They hoped to save us from the consequences of our own best intentions.