I think many people who feel drawn to this movement don't have any ideology to speak of. They're just quite informed about the happenings in their community and in the world - and importantly - dare to follow their hearts. You don't need an ideology to have trouble with ecosystem destruction, social injustice or whatever. It just feels wrong, for everyone.

I read lots of books, and even more blogs, but I've never read Singer, Mill, Locke or Hobbes, nor do I plan to. It may sound harsh, but I don't really care what they said. They were probably right, to some extend. :)

I'm a practical guy. I want to know what's happening, what's good, what's bad, and how we can get more of the good and less of the bad. By the time all the non-ideological issues are gone we're almost in utopia.

Just for example: Abortion... sucks. I can understand both pro-life and pro-choice arguments. It may be a question we'll never resolve, but I would thank heaven on my knees if abortion would be the only issue we'd have to talk about.

Nevertheless, it's good to discuss what binds us. I don't think it are age-old philosophers though.
I think it's something far more tacit, intangible. I think people are moved emotionally, and this can't be captured in words. We just want a better world.

I thought the Breakthrough book cited Nietzsche at some point. I guess you could call me an existentialist. If you don't accept any external meaning, you have to make meaning yourself, and I find this meaning in both living and care for life. But I think that's only human.

So could the progressive movement be bound just by our common humanity?

I wonder if one thing that binds progressives (or pushes us to the fringes of conservative communities) is an adventurousness that craves change. Maybe call it a recklessness. Maybe a perfectionism. An optimism. Hope.

I think it's sad to see people hold onto old, imperfect ideas. Sad for the world that has to endure them, but also sad for those people, people that can't imagine anything better.

One of the things I dig most about the Breakthrough perspective is your relentless push to try new things, your refusal to accept that we have the technology we need.

I sense in you guys the attitude that we can be better and do better, that we MUST be better and do better. It's an important attitude to share and to spread.

Funny, Jake, that you should mention the idea of change as a shared progressive ideology. While it seems like a simple point, we've heard some really interesting findings these past few days at Breakthrough from great work being done by John Jost, a political psychologist out of NYU and Robb Willer, a sociologist out of Berkeley. While I think I may delve more deeply into this in a post tomorrow, basically both have looked in depth at the psychological and sociological factors in political views. It turns out our views are not as rational as we thought, but have strong sociological and psychological underpinnnings. According to Jost, for instance, there is strong evidence that progressives generally advocate social change and reject inequality. On the other hand, conservatives generally are more likely to defend the status quo and accept inequality.

I also really love your imagery of a progressive impatience for change. Yet this election is certainly turning the notion of "change" as solely a progressive ideal on its head.

And thanks for the point, Meryn, about just reacting to what you feel is wrong and right. Sometimes we do get too cerebral. Perhaps my personal ideology shouldn't revolve around some dead white guys.

"adventurousness that craves change. Maybe call it a recklessness. "

I would certainly call myself adventurous, but do not consider myself reckless. As for the crave for change, I think I would call it a crave for better. But it's important to recognize what's already good. Not everything has to be different.

I think all these things are cross-partisan, but mainly found in youth or youthful people.

Lindsey: I'd love to learn more about John Jost and Rob Willer and how their work relates to Breakthrough. I'll be keeping a close eye on this blog!

Bummer that there's a connection to youthfulness, don't you think? Too bad experience and wisdom don't add to adventurousness and cravings for a better world. They should. I think. Though maybe I'm crazy NOT to love the status quo.

I'm excited to read more about Willer and Jost.

What draws me to this blog? That is a good question, although I imagine my answer will be quite different from the ones offered here. For one thing, I am not a progressive- or at least, I am not a progressive in the traditional sense of the word. Theodore Roosevelt was the last "progressive" who I identify with. Likewise, I am absolutely horrified at the thought of an Obama candidacy. But really, I digress. I should probably answer your question before I go off on tangents. ^_^

First and foremost, I am a humanist. I do not mean this as the atheist does- quite the opposite, as my religious convictions only strengthen my humanist beliefs. Bluntly said, I revel in all that humanity has accomplished, all that separates man from beast. This is in turn the reason Breakthrough appeals to me- unlike every other Environmental institute out there Breakthrough does not think of humanity as the world's worst problem, but as the world's greatest treasure. I firmly believe that every human being, every individual personality, is something as great as Yosemite, Yellowstone, or any other natural treasure. Likewise, every death is a tragedy of as great as the extinction of a species. This is not to say that we should not try and preserve the formations of Yosemite, or stop the extinction of a species, but that we need to learn the true value of every human being on this planet. In sum, it is this realization of the inherit value of every human being on this planet that drives both my personal and political philosophy.

Could part of it be a desire for oneness? And unity? To be part of a community, defined however you'd like (for me, most often ecologically)?

I don't just mean that sense of teamwork and solidarity I get from working together with others towards a progressive goal--especially 'environmental' ones. I also mean the broader feeling of kinda being on the same page as the planet. Being able to look out my window at the woods and knowing that advocating for clean energy legislation is ultimately what that tree and those squirrels would want, too.

I think that oneness and immediate connection to the life/landscape around me and a related sense of equality keep me excited and invested in certain goals.

(And then I go hug the tree.)

One of the biggest targets for politicians, as far as economics are concerned, is becoming the payday loan industry. Governors across the country are trying to rid their states of the industry altogether, and so far, Georgia, North Carolina, and Oregon have succeeded. The result was that bankruptcies, foreclosures, and also the number of overdraft fees due to bouncing checks went through the roof, which doesn’t do anything for the citizens afflicted in these turbulent times, and only is really good for the banking industry. Despite these negative effects, other states are looking to follow the example and do the same. Even at the national level, presidential candidate Barack Obama, is weighing in his own agenda on the issue, and advancing his own intentions on getting rid of the industry in the United States completely. If these measures, both on state levels and nationally, are successful, the results are going to be increased unemployment, more debt, more foreclosures, and an even worse economy.