What's the difference betweeen "progressive" and "liberal?" Define each.

[Clarkie1]

Thanks.

[blueinindiana]

1. Progressive is a person who is ashamed(afraid) to use the term Liberal.

[blueinindiana]

2. ..

[MH1]

3. Progressive is someone who supports gradual social change.

Contrast to "radical."

A "liberal" is someone who supports certain kinds of social change, typically greater social freedoms but more restrictions on organized groups, especially large corporations. A liberal recognizes the disproportionate power that can be attained by organized groups and seeks to restrict the growth of that power, while empowering individuals as individuals. Both of these goals necessitate the involvement of government, so a liberal also believes that government can function positively, and well-off liberals tend not to mind paying taxes (just sometimes they dislike what their tax dollars are spent on).

A progressive typically shares the goals of liberals, but in the original, dictionary derived meaning, is someone who recognizes the harm that may be caused by rapid upheavals and generally considers gradual progress better than radical change, with exception for situations where the status quo is disastrous.

However, in the context the term "progressive" is used in many discussions on the internet, it sometimes seems indistinguishable from "radical." That may stem from a difference of opinion about what situations are "disastrous" and thus require immediate, drastic change.


So, to sum up, liberals and progressives have approximately the same end goals, but the term "liberal" does not specify whether the described person is progressive or radical in their opinion of how those goals should be accomplished.

The right wing likes to characterize all liberals as "radical" and therefore scary to average folk. But, most liberals are probably more progressive than radical.

Does that help?

[ulysses]

4. I use them interchangeably, for the most part.

[Catchawave]

5. I'm a moderate liberal conservative :)

But have attended two war protests in DC and NYC.

Therefore, I must be a radical moderate? :evilgrin:

[pinkpops]

6. one is a label and the other is also a label

[zulchzulu]

7. As used in an argument with Freepers

When you are told you "are a left-wing Moonbat liberal", you say that you are a "progressive"...

The terms are nonsense anyway. It's all meant to pigeonhole people into neat little categories.

[phillysuse]

8. The liberal who is also a progressive

"We live in a liberal democracy. That's what we created in this country. It's in our constitution! We should be very clear on this... this country was founded on the principles of the Enlightenment. It was the idea that people could talk, have reasonable dialogue and discuss the issues. It wasn't founded on the idea that someone would get struck by a divine inspiration and know everything, right from wrong. People who founded this country had religion, they had strong beliefs, but they believed in reason, and dialogue, and civil discourse. We can't lose that in this country. We've got to get it back."

- Gen. Wesley K. Clark, Bill Maher Show, September 4 2003

[w4rma]

9. Historically: Liberal is what Republicans were before FDR. Progressive is what FDR was.

Outside the US, liberal is neo-liberal economics, liberal social views.
Outside the US, progressive is progressive/social-captialist to socialist economics, liberal social views.

I prefer to use terms that are consistent whether inside or outside the United States and historically.

[Nica-Libre]

10. Why get so hung up on labels?

Call yourself what you want and don't impose your definition on others. How hard is that?

[Vulture]

11. Hell if I know. n/t

[depakid]

12. There's a difference alright

This article sums it up rather well:

http://www.campusprogress.org/features/384/what-is-progressive

[Czolgosz]

13. Liberalism is principally a belief in reform and activism as a means to effect social change. It is

more concerned with embracing the plasticity of the process. The opposite of liberal is conservative, which means antipathic toward change.

Progressivism is principally a belief in improving society. It is more concerned with the goal of a better and more equal society than with the process of change. The opposite of progressive is regressive, which means backward.

Liberalism is a means to achieve progressive ends.

[mmonk]

14. More people will claim themselves progressive even if they hold

some ideas that aren't progressive in thought to avoid the liberal label which itself, has undergone changes through the different time periods in history. I use either definition sometimes.