Progressive politics

Progress is about change for the better. But who decides what is better? Those on the right of the political spectrum have different views from those on the left. Some of those seeking election at the moment suggest that there is need for anti-austerity progressive politics. In what follows I gather some thoughts on this hot topic.

Think for example of welfare. This involves a city, state, or national government providing financial or other assistance to an individual or family. In a welfare state the government (the state) plays a major part in protecting and promoting the economic and social well-being of its citizens, and in ensuring that they can realise their potential. It is also a safety net to prevent vulnerable people from slipping in to poverty. It is based on the principles of:

• equality of opportunity,
• equitable distribution of wealth, and
• public responsibility for those people who cannot provide themselves with the minimal requirements for a good life.

Those on the political left see the enlargement of welfare as a sign of progress. Those on the political right see it as regress – and vice-versa.

Those on the right reckon that government welfare encourages lazy, work-shy scroungers who need to get on their bikes and find work so they can pay taxes and buy stuff. When a large government becomes a nanny state it takes the hard earned wealth of the rich and the super-rich individuals and corporations, and uses it to subsidise shirkers.

Left wing parties are said to be based on ‘tax and spend’ or ‘Robin Hood’ policies. This involves taking from the rich and giving to the poor and this requires a large and sometimes inefficient public service.

Right wing policies are needed because nature is red in tooth and claw. Rational entrepreneurs are thus required to stand on their own two feet; and the cream of the crop will rise to the top. The only functions of government are to manage the police force and the armed forces to contain domestic and foreign unrest and ensure the rule of law. There is no need for the government to manage the economy as the invisible hand of the free market will sort things out.

Right wingers thus encourage privatization, and savage cuts to welfare spending, because they belief that the private sector is more efficient and cost effective than the public sector which is feather bedded and shielded from market forces. A brief look at the results of privatization shows that things are not that simple. Government actions are to provide services and to plough profits back into the organisation. The private sector exists to make a profit to be distributed amongst shareholders. The history of the private sector taking on government contracts is not a pretty one.

Note – the state provides corporations with a healthy and well educated work force; with infrastructure (eg roads, railways and airports); utilities (eg water, sewerage, waste disposal); security and the rule of law – the list goes on and includes various subsidies and bail outs. This suggests that the extreme right wing position is mythical.

SO … there are two ways of defining progressive politics and both can have many details. I have listed a few of them in the following table. You can add more items depending on your personal points of view.