Reject Modernity, Embrace Progress!
A left-wing critique of progressivism
Ask anyone outside of the Overton window, mainly the alternative right and the revolutionary left, and they will denounce contemporary progressivism as a disgusting half-breed of corporate culture and mob rule.
This analysis, while not wrong, is unhelpful. The solution to our answers is not a radical embrace of everything progressive (and trying to separate it from corporate culture, aka communism), a radical rejection of progressivism (traditionalism), or a moderate balance of progress (fascism), but a return to the old ways of progress.
Yes, you heard me right. True progress is in the past. This sounds vaguely fascist does it not? I’m not speaking of alternate modernism, but classical progressivism. This style of progress manifested itself in the early 20th century in the nations of America and Turkey, mainly under the leadership of Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Mustafa Kemal, and Teddy Roosevelt.
Classical progressivism’s main ideological clash with it’s contemporary cousin is it’s tendency for more technocratic policies- which is the best way I could put it. I’ll explain. Classical progressives disavow the identity politics of it’s modern successor. Yes, we are feminists indeed, but we know that women and men must work together in cohesion. We do not hate homosexuals, as long as they are productive citizens. We are patriots and nationalists, because we want a strong, healthy society.
We want the best for society. Letting two adult men go on a date together is not going to bring about Armageddon. Letting people waste their life away smoking meth and watching porn on the other hand, creates decadence, which must be stopped.
This is the difference. We are more concerned about society, they are concerned about the individual. We both support women’s rights, homosexuality, abortion, etc, but for different reasons. For them it’s about equality and liberty, for us it’s about the maximization of societal health. They want abortion in order to promote individual liberty, we want abortion in order to spare children from growing up in homes where they are not financially or emotionally cared for.