Progressivism

It's frustrating to see and hear all of the confusion there is out there concerning the differences and nuances of all of the various left wing ideologies, especially the one that I ascribe to which is progressivism. The most frustrating misconception I constantly see being spread about progressivism is that it's a radical far left philosophy. This simply isn't true. Progressivism is a center left school of thinking that's been around since the days of the enlightenment. What is known as American progressivism came about around the 1890s from great minds such as Woodrow Wilson from the democrats, and Theodore Roosevelt from the Republicans. That's right, it wasn't a movement that was confined to a single party. Progressivism has many aspects to it, one of the main ones is the desire to fight economic inequality. The means believed best to do so, however, is where progressives differ from farther left ideologies such as socialism. Where as socialists believe that capitalism is the cause of wealth inequality and needs to be removed from the equation, progressives believe that while capitalism is far from perfect, the best path is to repair and mend it so that it works better for everyone instead of scrapping it all together. This is my thinking exactly. Another thing progressivism is known for is the desire for social justice and equality which I've always been totally for. Progressives seek racial equality, gender equality, and religious freedom. During the early days of the progressive era, the belief was that society should always be moving forward, and the best way to ensure that happens is to make sure that everyone has an equal chance in order to take part in that progress. If there are people out there that are chained down by economic inequality, racial injustice, or discrimination of any sort, then society can't move forward and that's unacceptable. Progressives receive the same criticism today as they did back then. They're painted as pie in the sky idealists with unrealistic goals, but I believe nothing could be further from the truth. The future that us progressives wants is one where society is equal. A future where everyone has the chance to follow their dreams, while living in a civilization that recognizes their inherent worth as human beings. While this ideal world isn't going to be easy to achieve, there is no more worthy of a goal worth working towards. Theodore Roosevelt knew that, Woodrow Wilson Knew that, and all of the progressives then and now know that, but we're willing to do everything we can, to fight tooth and nail to make sure we as a civilization stay on the path that is steaming ahead towards that incredibly noble and worthwhile goal. While no ideology is perfect, and there are certainly individuals claiming to belong to every variety of schools of thought that fail to adhere to the principles which they espouse, I don't believe that means a certain philosophy isn't worth appreciating. Obviously some ways of thinking are just inherently flawed and wrong, but I don't believe progressivism falls under that category, though I'm aware that many would disagree. There is so much more to the school of thought known as progressivism that I haven't discussed her so if the topic has inspired some interest in you, I'd recommend further looking into it by reading the works of some well known progressive minds. Eugene Debs, Jane Adams and John Dewey are some decent ones. Again, not all of their ideas are perfect or free from logical holes, but from my own view, they resemble a closer image of what I would like to come of the world, or at very least an early forming of that vision that should be amended and built upon as the world around it continues to grow and change.