The Breakthrough Institute

With the election of Barack Obama, we are entering a new period of progressive governance in America, but not necessarily a new era of progressivism. Progressivism in this country is still defined by its opposition to conservatism. Opposition is easy. All a movement in opposition must do is deflate the reigning movement's intellectual principles and debunk that movement's narrative. All you have to do is criticize.

But now, as Barack Obama assumes the presidency, the time has come for progressives to create. We must build our own intellectual principles and or own defining narrative. This is the only way for a new progressivism to be born out of this political moment. We must build an identity that is more than "non-conservative."

A narrative and an intellectual framework for principled governance: these are the two necessary ingredients to building a movement. Barack Obama has done a great job of creating a new progressive narrative based on embracing agency and moving forward, and rooted in the affirmative, hopeful, and willful American spirit. But in terms of intellectual principles, we still have a ways to go.

For a good example of intellectual principles that define a movement we can turn to Francis Fukuyama, whose views provided the intellectual basis of neoconservativism. In his book, "The End of History and the Last Man," Fukuyama put forth the idea that, with the collapse of communism, the end point of human development is a lightly regulated free market in an open democracy. As he puts it in his book, "The End of History and the Last Man":

"What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the end of history as such: that is, the end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government."

In other words, the free market democracy is the end to history. This idea was the basis for the intellectual framework that defined the movement.

Progressives must build an intellectual framework for their politics, or the movement will fail. It should not be ideologically empty, as it is now, nor should it be ideologically dogmatic, as conservatism is. Rather, its ideology should be flexible and deeply rooted in pragmatism. This intellectual movement should not be nearly as essentialist and Platonic as Fukuyama's "end of history."

In fact, if I were to suggest an intellectual principle for a new progressivism, I would suggest viewing the market as a means to an end, and not merely the end of history. The market is not some absolute end to human development. In fact, it is nothing more or less than a tool for humans to manipulate and achieve desired outcomes. Seeing the market as a means to an end effectively negates the conservative emphasis on the purity of an untainted market. There is nothing about the nature of the market that should preclude harnessing it to achieve desired outcomes on behalf of society. This is nothing new:

• During World War II we used the market as a means for the military end of creating a military force that could destroy fascism.
• During the 1960s we used the market as a means for a scientific end of creating a space program and putting a man on the moon.
• We constantly use the market as a means for political and diplomatic ends when we place economic sanctions on foreign countries.

This view of the market as a means to an end, and not an end to history creates an intellectual framework for innovative new progressive ideas both large and government-oriented (like a national infrastructure bank) and small and personal (like microfinance organizations such as Kiva.org).

Rigorous debate and lively discussion should accompany any attempt to formulate the intellectual principles for a progressive movement focused on public investment for the public good and a new social contract that provides economic security and makes Americans healthy and free. This discussion is fundamental to the future of progressivism.