Q&A: Liberalism – Progressives
Liberalism – Progressives
Question
Hello Rabbi, during a discussion a fundamental question came up about the difference between liberalism and progressives. My intuition tends to separate between them, but aside from a sociological distinction (or at least that there is no perfect overlap), I haven’t managed to define the essence of each of these camps and identify the point of separation. What do you think?
Answer
These are just semantic discussions that aren’t very important. Liberalism is a position that advocates openness and freedom, and progressivism is about progress (or advancement). From that point on, everyone pours into each of these two concepts whatever content they want. These terms are used in different ways depending on the context. Someone who sees X as progress and supports X will call himself progressive. Someone who opposes X will say that this is not progress but regression. [Who opposes progress? The question under debate is what counts as progress.]