Progressivism

Progressivism is a political philosophy that seeks to make progress in the human condition through reforms aimed at increasing positive liberty. Progressivism arose during the Age of Enlightenment out of the belief that civility in Europe was improving due to the application of new empirical knowledge. Progressivism as an umbrella term is associated with variants of social liberalism, social democracy and democratic socialism. Within economic progressivism, there is some ideological variation. Illustrative examples of this include some Christian democracy and conservative-leaning communitarian movements. While many ideologies can fall under the banner of progressivism, all eras of the movement are characterized by a critique of unregulated capitalism and a call for a more active democratic government to safeguard human rights, promote cultural development, and serve as a check-and-balance on corporate monopolies. Other types of progressivism include techno-progressivism.