Reason Magazine versus the Progressives of Old
The latest issue of Reason Magazine has a book review of a book that explores the role racism played in the Progressive Movement. I have not seen the book, nor do I even remember its name. For its part, the Reason Magazine article sweeps the Populists in with the Progressives, which is fair enough as they are sort of ideological cousins. I note that William Jennings Bryan’s “q” rating has risen, and I can quote various articles I’ve read referring to the book (A Godly Hero) by Michael Kazin that has pushed him in profile. The sentence that strikes me from some article or other for purposes here is that “Populism may have started as multi-racial, but distilled through the politics of the Democratic Party…” … well, that’s another story. Progressivism I guess is the elitist version of Populism, and…
Such thinking, which emphasized “expert” opinion and advocated sweeping governmental power, fit perfectly within the Progressive worldview, which favored a large, active government that engaged in technocratic, paternalistic planning. As for reconciling white supremacy with egalatarian democracy, keep in mind that when a racist Progressive championed “the working man”, “the common man” or “the people”, he typically prefixed the silent adjective “white”.
It’s probably a bit easier to extricate the problem with “Progressivism” (Um… simply drop the silent “white” away) than with “Populism”. Whether we like to admit it or not, Pat Buchanan is an heir to William Jennings Bryan. (I’m pretty sure he’d be against NAFTA).
I know I should engage the article in full, but I’m not being graded here. Skip to the last paragraph… and the Libertarian worldview becomes stark:
Despite these significant shortcomings [in reference to the “Buchanan v Warley” Supreme Court decision, as victory for Black Americans], The Progressive Era and Race deserves careful attention. The Progressive movement unleashed and aided some of the most destructive forces in 20th Century America. The better we understand this history the less likely we are to repeat it.
You do realize that by “most destructive forces in the 20th Century”, he is not referring to anything tied with Racism (Eugenics, perhaps?) but is referencing… the checks and balances put in place against the excesses of Industrial Society. That is to say:
Minimum Wage, Maximum Hour Laws, Antitrust statutes, Appropriations for hundreds of miles of roads and highways, Assistance to New Immigrants and the Poor (okay. As distilled through Corrupt big city political bosses. Fine.), the Popular Vote for Senators, and on and on.
Slant your head askew.