They both hinge on the past, I now see. Conservatives want to maintain what is left of the past and restore what has been lost. Progressives want, it seems, to run a fine-tooth comb through everything about the past and dismantle and repurpose anything that looks like a workable job with their tools (rationalism and science; universal human rights; tolerance; etc.).
conservatism... and what now seems to be exclusively called "progressive"... are two sides of the same coin. — WISDOMfromPO-MO
None of this would be a problem if conservatives, progressives, libertarians, etc. were open-minded and respectful of diverse viewpoints. But if there ever was a political climate like that it doesn't seem to be anywhere to be found now. — WISDOMfromPO-MO
Things like dismantling a millennia-old patriarchy would not even be on my radar. — WISDOMfromPO-MO
If political views matter -- I think that they do -- and if there is anything at stake -- there is -- then conservatives and progressives, statists and libertarians, etc. have little reason to work together. You can get people of various opinions to sit down and explore their differences, and that's fine -- nothing is a stake there. If a 2 or 3 trillion dollar budget is at issue, there is absolutely no reason why these disparate groups would cooperate -- the interests they represent are very antagonistic to each other. — Bitter Crank
I believe that a leader with the right skills could get enough people to work together to resolve problems. — WISDOMfromPO-MO
It increasingly looks like the only way to get anything permanent and good accomplished is to have the skill to work around labels like "conservative" and "progressive". — WISDOMfromPO-MO
practical, resolvable problems — WISDOMfromPO-MO
Chucking money at education is the old progressive way. Surely it's time to rethink education lock stock and barrel?
Surely it's time to rethink education lock stock and barrel? — Jake Tarragon
Another potentially massive leap forward could be made by freeing up education along the lines of personal growth and development, and distributing the delivery of education more widely, away from institutions somewhat. That would appeal to a lot of conservatives. Chucking money at education is the old progressive way. Surely it's time to rethink education lock stock and barrel? — Jake Tarragon
First of all, there is no "old" progressive way, since Millennials are the most progressive generation we have, and they--to their credit--greatly embrace traditional, Humanist, progressive values — Thanatos Sand
End credentialism. — WISDOMfromPO-MO
Certainly the "rights revolutions" have been embedded in the education system to a large extent, but unfortunately progress in rights has not been matched by progress in economic emancipation and social equality.
The education system has tended to deliver "success" to some but "failure" to others.
The result is large scale disaffection amongst whole halves of populations, as witnessed by the election of Trump in the US, Brexit and other nationalist leaning movements in Europe.
The rights revolutions are actually under a degree of threat because at half the population have been overlooked while the other half has prospered. — Jake Tarragon
End credentialism. — WISDOMfromPO-MO
You're a traditional, mainstream liberal. Be proud!
Someone once described liberals as conservatives who can't resist tinkering. Another way to look at it would be that liberals focus on stuff that has practical solutions.
Remember Obama's bit about Hillary's campaign slogan: "Trudge on up that hill!" That's liberalism. You leave the revolution to someone else and just fix shit. — Srap Tasmaner
I think there are potentially some very progressive policies that could be sold to the conservative camp, at least on some major aspects. For example, Universal Basic Income would give ordinary citizens a degree of security and a whole heap of flexibility. But it could be pitched alongside freeing up bureaucratic employment legislation and cutting the need for lots of admin jobs in welfare.
The "old progressive"/left approach is to encourage full employment, and perhaps there are vested interests in the Unions etc that propagate that view point, but it's no longer where ambitious and potentially successful policy sits IMO. — Jake Tarragon
All systems do that; that is not a problem of having a public educations system funded by the government. — Thanatos Sand
An idea that I have had for several years now is to end the firms/households binary and treat all economic actors the same — WISDOMfromPO-MO
I don't know what my approach to leading and governing would make me--a political pragmatist, perhaps. But I sense that the people who now identify as "liberal" and "progressive" probably would not like it. — WISDOMfromPO-MO
Your approach is essentially liberal. Conservatives would hate it because of the degree of political and economic manipulation it would require... — praxis
Apparently, conservatives believe that a free market is self-regulating or self-correcting, despite historical evidence, such as the great depression and the 2008 recession, to the contrary. — praxis
And conservatives' biggest hero, private business, would probably love it because it would treat businesses as equal partners in solving problems, not vilify them and treat them like enemies to be regulated and taxed. — WISDOMfromPO-MO
Some specific items in your proposed approach:I would be looking for ways to cut costs, cut waste, cut spending, reduce debt, etc., so I doubt that any conservative would play the "unregulated free market" card against me. — WISDOMfromPO-MO
I don't know what my approach to leading and governing would make me--a political pragmatist, perhaps. — WISDOMfromPO-MO
Of course there's no such thing as a truly free-market, but conservatives generally want an absolute minimum of governmental intervention in business. I can only imagine the thought of being "equal parters" would be rather unappealing... — praxis
Businesses are usually attracted with tax breaks and other incentives, or a well funded public sector, which is all costly.
By economic development policy do you mean regulations?... — praxis
On a second look your position seems to be more towards the center than left. — praxis
I would say this: "Business, we need to reduce gang violence in the community. Everybody, including you, will benefit. Can you help?"
There are other ways to meet people's needs besides government spending. Recruiting volunteers is an example.
all energy — WISDOMfromPO-MO
all focus — WISDOMfromPO-MO
all capital — WISDOMfromPO-MO
all solidarity — WISDOMfromPO-MO
all creativity — WISDOMfromPO-MO
all passion — WISDOMfromPO-MO
We have crumbling infrastructure to repair — WISDOMfromPO-MO
We have public debt to reduce — WISDOMfromPO-MO
We have alarming rates of incarceration to reduce. — WISDOMfromPO-MO
We have non-renewable resources to conserve — WISDOMfromPO-MO
We have inefficient elementary, secondary and higher education systems to reform. — WISDOMfromPO-MO
We have epidemic levels of obesity and opioid dependency to intervene in. — WISDOMfromPO-MO
That makes me a political pragmatist, maybe? — WISDOMfromPO-MO
And right now nobody seems to be more intolerant than people who identify as "progressive". — WISDOMfromPO-MO
We have inefficient elementary, secondary and higher education systems to reform.
Then you face the empirical problem of how the ever increasing billions spent on education hasn't translated into students being better educated. — Thorongil
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