Do you think that PROGRESSIVE is a better word than LIBERAL?

Question

I do. To me liberal means unlimited license and unlimited tolerance, whereas progressive suggests progress toward a specific goal which needs to be accomplished.

Answer 1

Unfortunately, the goal that those people are progressing towards is socialism, and it would denigrate the Progressive movement of the late 1800's and early 1900's, which liberalism doesn't even resemble.

Liberal isn't the best word. Socialist is.

Answer 2

Liberals share a belief in individual rights, free enterprise, representative democracy, and the rule of law. In this sense, almost all Americans accept liberal ideals, so much so that it is easy to forget how revolutionary these ideals were when the American Constitution was written. Jefferson said "peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none." All of our founding fathers considered liberalism a foundation of “the grand experiment”, America. In our era, liberalism has been derided to appear weak and elitist, and, our military is used to enter entangling alliances with some. Think liberal, think BIG!

Answer 3

"Liberal" used to refer to people with a desire to preserve individual liberties and to reform society. The ending of slavery, for example, was accomplished by liberals, such as Wilberforce.

Later, socialism developed in America and then in Germany and was finally emulated in Russia. Regrettably, the word "liberal" came to be attached to the leftists in society.

The early liberals included a lot of evangelical Christians. Just as the word "liberal" was abused, likewise the once-honorable word "evangelical" was later hijacked by American fundamentalists as protective coloration when ignorant fools like William Jennings Bryan made the more honest label "fundamentalist" embarrassing for them. They abandoned the liberalism of the earlier evangelicals.

Meanwhile, the conservatives took over the defense of individual liberties which the liberals had largely given up. This was valuable and I am a conservative in that sense. But lately we have seen the falsely so-called "conservatives" in America become the advocates of more and more state power to control the lives of individuals. These "neocons" are traitors to real conservatism. Rather than respecting individual freedom of choice, they want to force their own prejudices on us all by state power. Even the president of the United States tried to butt in and intervene in the private affairs of the Schiavo family. That is nothing like real conservatism or like classical liberalism.

So yes, perhaps the word "progressive" has a place, if it helps identify those who maintain the classical values of liberalism, honoring the dignity and worth and liberties of the free individual human being, while working towards an enhanced society in which the individual will have ever-improving opportunities to grow in liberty.

Hopefully, "progressive" might embrace a repudiation of state attempts to control you and restrict individual liberties, and stand for the principles of classical liberalism as well as honest traditional conservatism.

Canada has party calling itself "Progressive Conservative" and I have never figured out what that means.

Answer 4

You have it right on. There are progressives in both parties and there are liberals in both parties too. The best candidates are the progressive ones whichever party they are in. We must move the nation forward. Unfortunately we have been treading water or going backward in recent years.

Answer 5

Our forefathers were proud enough to call themselves liberals and the name is still good enough for me. Furthermore, as long as ignorant neocons insist on deliberately misspelling liberal, I'll continue to rub the traditional use of the name in their smirky faces.

Answer 6

No, because it has been used in the same manor, and when you apply it to the liberal left on issues like defense and civil engineering, it tends to be a misnomer.

Answer 7

Yes, the term "liberal" has been turned into a slur by the far right and I agree, "progressive" is a good substitute.

Answer 8

NO!!!!!!!!! Trust me you have gotten more exclamation marks from me than anybody I have ever answered ! Allowing cons to make the word "liberal" obsolete because they have put so many negative connotations on it is BULLSH!T !!!!!!!! It's Liberal ! Spelled: L,I,B,E,R,A,L. Not "progressive: We liberals are taking it back.
Dam you hit a nerve!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 9

no, because it suggests that we're the only progressive ones, it says pubs aren't progressive, which many are, it just doesn't seem to be the latest trend.

Answer 10

no...i think the word your searching for as far as the leftist democratic agenda would be is reversal....reversal to the point when america wasnt even a untion and great britain, france, and spain all told it what to do basically and had troops stationed here, ready to divide the country up amongst themselves ....only now they want to do it under the guise of the united nations...the greatest threat to democracy this last 30 years has seen on the planet....