progressivism, individualism, and the public ... - Telmarc Group

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The Telmarc Group PROGRESSIVISM, INDIVIDUALISM, AND THE PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL 1 INTRODUCTION There has been a continuing tension between those who believe in the sanctity of the individual versus those who view the amorphous entity called society as the compelling form of convergence. In a governmental structure we have three elements; the individual, the society, and the state. The individual is clearly the well defined articulation of each and every person, having certain rights and in turn responsibilities. There is no ambiguity or lack of clarity in determining who or what is an individual. Then there is the society, the social amalgam which makes up the group, oftimes the majority, and just as oftimes the minorities, separately or in collusion with one another. The society has fluidity in that it presents the view of the group to all others, and in a democracy or a republic it is often the majority or the ruling party. The state then is the embodiment of the ruling society formed according to the rules then current. For example it may be the party in power and the President, or Congress, or Prime Minister. The state is the reflection of the society's ruling class. In some cases it may be the minority group which may have attained power through military control. In other cases the state may be a conflicted collection of entities as if found in the US where the element of checks and balances is at play. We look at two groups of political thinkers, the individualists and the progressives and then we look at their current successors. In simple terms the individualists are those who cherish the individual and the individual rights even to the extent of considering them as natural rights. The second class we call the progressives, and we use that term in the context in which it was used in the late 19th century and early 20th because in many ways the progressives were a societal movement where the individual was subsumed to the group, the society. The individualists can be viewed simply as a group who firmly believe in the sanctity of the individual, with the extreme being the individual supreme to the group, yet there being a group, and the individual being alone, anonymous if necessary, with the right to be left alone as Brandeis was wont to state in his famous paper on privacy. In contrast the essence of the progressive movement is that it contains two elements as underpinnings. First, the group, the society as defined by this group, can determine what the norm is for all, and second can then via the power of a central government enforce its will on all. This group centered defining of standards, whether they be how property is handled, how pollution is dealt with, how health care is provided, is the cornerstone of the progressive mindset. The individualist would let the individual make the decision whereas the progressive will have the group, the society in charge, make the decision, and then have the Government enforce it. Page 14
The Telmarc Group PROGRESSIVISM, INDIVIDUALISM, AND THE PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL There is a conflict of visions on the political front that is driving the economic agenda in the United States which in many ways is a confrontation of two views of the country which have been around for over two centuries. The views are those of the Individualists, who were basically the Founders and their followers and the Progressives and their followers. Simply they are visions which on the one hand respect the individual and the individual's rights versus the "community" and its rights. Progressivism was a result of the change in industrial structure as well as an overall economic restructuring following the Civil War. It was a middle class movement which in many ways paralleled the development of socialist movements which had migrated from Europe. In contrast the Individualists are those who maintain the ideas which led to the original Constitution, a view focused on individualism and the minimalist view of the Federal Government. This paper looks at these two movements, as they were at their conception and now as they seem to be competing with each other in the public market place of political thought. 1.1 INDIVIDUALISM Individualism is the basic belief in the rights, dignity, and social sanctity of the individual per se. That is the individual exists and that any society is nothing more than an amalgam of individuals, that is groups a transient entities assembles for the purpose at hand and generally have little if any sustaining capabilities. Individualism is built around the Bill of Rights, that portion of the Constitution that expressly states what the individual's rights are at a minimum, and that the Bill of Rights is an open set of individual rights built around an expansive view of the natural law. Individualism does not deny the existence and benefits of groups or associations. Individualism is also based upon the concept of contracts, expressed or implied, between individuals or persons through which commitments are made between or amongst individuals for specific purposes with mutual obligations and mutual benefits accruing therefrom. Individualism is not conservative or libertarian. Individualism believes that the individual through their efforts can obtain value and that such accrued value is by definition property which the individual can protect, use, and transfer for something of value. Individualism believes that the purpose of the state, the government, is primarily to protect the rights of the individual in their property and to take all reasonable means as a government to defend the country against any foreign aggressors. Page 15
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The Telmarc Group and the Progressi
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