| Progressivism In The United States |
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Progressivism in the United States Overview Some argue that Progressivism in the United States can best be differentiated from liberalism in two major ways. One, progressivism is more political in nature, while liberalism is more of an ideology. And two, American Progressives tend to be more socially conservative or hold "working class" values on issues like crime and gun control. Progressivism refers to two political phenomena: Populist Political Progressivism Historically, this represents distrust of concentrations of power in the hands of politicians, corporations, families, and special interest groups as represented by the candidacies of economic philosopher Henry George and the Single Tax movement, President Theodore Roosevelt and the Bull-Moose Party, the Cleveland Mayoral administration of Tom L. Johnson , Louisiana Governor Huey Long and the Share Our Wealth movement, and in the early nineties by consumer lawyer Ralph Nader , billionaire Presidential candidate Ross Perot , and his Reform Party . In modern terminology this is generally called Populism , which can range from the political left to the political right. Thus, its foundation is rooted in the uniquely American philosophy of pragmatism. Ideological or Modern Left Progressivism This is a cluster of political, activist, and media organizations ranging from left-liberal to Democratic Socialism . Significant media include '' The Progressive '' magazine, '' The Nation '', and '' The American Prospect ''. Modern Left Progressivism includes several political figures including Bernie Sanders , Barbara Boxer , Russ Feingold , Dennis Kucinich , and Peter Camejo . Also in this category are many leaders in the Women's Movement , Labor Movement , Anti-globalization movement, American Civil Rights Movement , Environmental Movement , immigrant rights movement, and gay and lesbian rights movement. Other well-known progressives include Noam Chomsky , Cornel West , Howard Zinn , Michael Parenti , Greg Palast , George Lakoff , Michael Lerner , Suzanne Pharr , and Urvashi Vaid . Media voices for the Progressive Movement in the United States include Barbara Ehrenreich , Al Franken , Amy Goodman , Thom Hartmann , Jim Hightower , Molly Ivins , Rachel Maddow , Stephanie Miller , Mike Malloy , Randi Rhodes , Betsy Rosenberg , and Ed Schultz . Modern day issues for "progressives" can include: Ecology , Pollution control, Publicly-funded Medicine & healthcare, cessation of the Death Penalty , Affordable Housing , Proportional Representation , Instant Runoff Voting , fusion candidates, a vital Social Security System, Renewable Energy , " Smart Growth " urban development, and Unicameral legislature (closing state senates and the U.S. Senate as per a 1976 U.S. Supreme Court decision against state senate districts representing land rather than representing people). Examples of the broad range of progressive texts include: "New Age Politics" by . The work of Ralph Nader reflects a blend of progressive left politics, consumerism, and right-wing populism reminiscent of the historic aspects of Populist Political Progressivism. History In the United States , the term ''progressive'' was first applied to politics in the Progressive Era of the early 20th Century, at which time politicians of both the Democratic and Republican parties (see Theodore Roosevelt , Bull-Moose Republicans, and the United States Progressive Party ) began to pursue social, environmental, political, and economic reforms. Chief among these aims was the pursuit of improved industrial working conditions, improved living conditions for the poor, decreased corruption in politics, and environmental conservation. Some historians say the New Deal efforts were a natural continuation of progressivism and other historians see a major discontinuity. (Two-thirds of the surviving progressives, like Jane Addams opposed the New Deal {Link without Title} .) Progressivism at the turn of the twentieth century was largely a bipartisan effort (see William Jennings Bryan , Woodrow Wilson , Theodore Roosevelt , Robert La Follette ), but William Howard Taft purged most of the them from the Republican party, which has been predominantly conservative since 1912. Today's Progressives are primarily Democrats or to the left of the Democrats, as Ralph Nader . The Four Original Goals of Progressivism: # Protecting social welfare - YMCA # Promoting moral improvement - Prohibition of alcohol # Creating economic reform - Change of individual behavior # Fostering the Efficiency Movement - "Taylorism" See also
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