Friday, February 10, 2017

Progressivism.

This post is perhaps overdue. Start with the websearch = progressivism.

Historians have unfortunately labeled a period including Woodrow Wilson as "The Progressive Era."

The income tax, big standing army, the Fed, Palmer Raids, J. Edgar Hoover taking root; all that stinking garbage is not how the word "progressive" should be understood today.

Yet history invented labels. "Populism" as a label has been applied to the Trump success; and thus is debased beyond rescue.

Needing a term for fairness to the people first and foremost, a true government for the people, we today use "progressive" for that notion.

It is "democratic socialism," where the corporatist media and politicians have tarnished "socialism" as if a bad word; and where Bernie's revolution, if nothing else, has elevated the word back to the respect it deserves.

Perhaps, "people-first socialism" is the more exact term, but acceptance of "progressivism" for that concept seems widespread, to the point of such a usage here, where the meaning is anything but, "Let's have Woodrow Wilson again." No. Not that. No way.

Language evolves. "Progressivism" in its meaning is evolving, has evolved, to basically mean "people-first democratic socialism" which does not reject capitalism and notions of private property, but wishes to have a fair, responsive government that protects the poor from the rich and the rich from each other, and optimizes resource distribution and usage to not be oppressive, as is the present case. Trump and his billionaires and generals being the representative embodiment of the lying evil of an oppressive continuance of a misapplication of the nation's wealth and resources and income into the hands of a tiny greedy shortsighted bunch of dangerous sociopaths.

Or not. Opinions can differ. There shall be four years of proof, either way. But the ending sentence of the preceding paragraph has Bannon and De Vos in mind, with Puzder and Price adding to the flavor. Adding to the likely stench.