As she clearly says she reveres the early Progressives, but uses the term “modern Progressive.” A “modern Progressive” seems to differ from the older style FDR-Wilson Progressives in that they have given up on engineering some abstract utopia on earth, but still have the same evangelistic zeal they had when they forced Prohibition on an unwilling public.
They still have same socialist’ economic agenda, but now Soviet style social equality seems to be the goal. They have certainly slid closer to communism as Michael Schwalbe has shown. He represents I believe much of the faculty at our elite universities and it’s here that Alinsky’s agenda of “radicalizing” or indoctrinating the middle class is coming from, in particular the hostility towards traditional values.
Other Progressives such as many in the environmental movement have become even anti-human, placing nature above human welfare. They have dressed up the same old socialism-Marxism into a Green overcoat. See Ominous Parallels Between Environmentalism and Collectivism.
I think Professor Schwalbe states Hillary’s modern Progressive political agenda very well and it has nothing to do with individual freedom Hillary only pays lip service to. (I left out his dislike of the military something to be expected from leftists, but perhaps not Hillary.)
Most of it seems to be democratic Marxism lite, but not outright state ownership of everything. There is no tolerance for individual autonomy, responsibility, or personal freedom, no respect for private property, and secular Humanism as a quasi-state religion.
Much of the same thinking is found in the Humanist Manifestos put out by the Humanist Society mostly written by a disgruntled communist known as Paul Kurtz.
In his tract In Defense of Eupraxophy he says, “Marx was no doubt the greatest humanist thinker of the nineteenth century…” He goes on how terrible it was that the Soviet Union couldn’t wipe out the belief in God after 70 years of terror. While his focus is mostly promoting atheism, his various Humanist manifestos seem to be a new form of neo-Marxism or democratic socialism.
Under Progressivism then and today the State assumes the role of God. That pseudo-god is often led by a almost messiah like figure ready to lead us to “collective salvation.” (Obama’s words, not mine.)
So just what are Progressives like Hillary, Alinsky, Michael Schwalbe, Paul Kurtz, etc. really looking for and just what is a Progressive? None of these people have ever worked a real job in their lives being mainly academics, lawyers, etc. and have never struggled to put a meal on their table. They like Karl Marx have never set foot on a factory floor other than to visit or grip about those working there.
So why would they so want to destroy the very system that rewards them with material comfort and freedom unknown anywhere in the world? Because they are the disgruntled and radicalized upper-middle class brats that believe they know what’s better for everyone else.
Most are not evil people and do mean well, but too often end up being used by those that are. As Enlightenment secularists many simply can’t conceive the existence of innate human evil.
Progressives are not monolithic and even have competing interests, but do tend to form uneasy political coalitions. Nor is this some silly conspiracy because they operate right in the open even while attempting to silence their critics.
Progressivism they believe gives us all the benefits of Humanist philosophy without the extremism of the Bolsheviks and the destruction of democracy of the European fascists.
For its followers it assumes the force of a secular fundamentalist’ religion. They have a complete blind faith in human goodness and see themselves as righteous crusaders in that cause.
Human nature can be fixed through concerted government action and central planing. Individual freedom must yield to the greater public good which they alone define.
Because of this extreme emotional, if not religious attachment to a proven failure, they must deny reality, reject reason, and live in a fantasy world. When reality threatens their new secular faith they react as any other fundamentalist would react.
Dissent and reason are crushed under the jackboot of political correctness and their trinity of diversity, multiculturalism, and affirmative action is protected at all cost – heresy isn’t tolerated. In other words Progressivism in the hands of the right people using some real or manufactured crisis can easily slip back into the democratic totalitarianism it really is.
*See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1098904/Secret-Lusitania-Arms-challenges-Allied-claims-solely-passenger-ship.html To quote,
The diving team estimates that around four million rounds of U.S.-manufactured Remington .303 bullets lie in the Lusitania’s hold at a depth of 300ft. The Germans had insisted the Lusitania – the fastest liner in the North Atlantic – was being used as a weapons ship to break the blockade Berlin had been trying to impose around Britain since the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914.
Winston Churchill, who was first Lord of the Admiralty and has long been suspected of knowing more about the circumstances of the attack than he let on in public, wrote in a confidential letter shortly before the sinking that some German submarine attacks were to be welcomed. He said: ‘It is most important to attract neutral shipping to our shores, in the hope especially of embroiling the U.S. with Germany.
Source http://www.sullivan-county.com/id5/peck22008.htm
