Progressivism: New and Modern?

"I guess you guys aren't ready for that. But your kids are gonna love it."
--Marty McFly (Back to the Future)

When Progressivism was gathering momentum a century ago, the movement's ' dominant logic was that changing times demanded a new view of the world. The relevance of the Constitution had largely passed and those who still supported it were out of date. In order to adapt to the times, the scope of government needed to be broadened beyond the scope specified by the Founders. Progressivism was new and modern; allegiance to the Constitution was old and stuffy.

That marketing message persists to this day.

The fact is that the mechanism behind Progressivism--employing authoritarian government to coercively achieve some group's agenda--is as old as time. Indeed, authoritarian government has been the dominant design of civilized history.

The truly fresh idea is that of liberty and limited government. Individuals pursuing their destinies powered by their own free will. This design has been a rarity throughout civilized history, which has facilitated belief that governance structures grounded in liberty can not persist.

While it may not seem so to this generation of Americans, rest assured that when our country threw off its authoritarian shackles more than 200 yrs ago, the concept of freedom looked pretty radical to the rest of the world. Indeed, that was precisely the label slapped on early Americans: 'radicals,', 'revolutionaries.'

The Progressive movement is nothing new. It's merely a flavor of traditional authoritarian rule that pervades history.