Community

The Myth of the Self-Sufficient Man

At its core, right-wing philosophy is based upon the notion that every man (forget the women) is an island. If you’re rich and successful, you must have done it all on your own (see: Ayn Rand). If you’re poor, or even temporarily down and out, well then it must be your own fault.

“Conservatives” are inherently suspicious of government precisely because it is a mechanism for cooperating with other people. The Bush Administration’s inept response to Katrina is the predictable result.

They romanticize individual rights, freedoms and initiative, while conveniently ignoring large parts of the narrative of human history. They forget that the “self-made man” benefited from collective investments in public education, infrastructure and public safety. They worship the corporation, papering over its tax breaks and public subsidies (the largest of which being the very limited liability that makes it a viable entity). They hail Bill Gates and ignore the public investment in computer technology and internet infrastructure that made his innovation viable.

Cooperation for Mutual Benefit

Progressives understand that humans are fundamentally a social species. We congregate in societies not just to avoid Hobbes’ “war of all against all,” but because we all benefit through collective enterprise, division of labor and shared burdens.

Most importantly, our relationships with other people are the foundation of a fulfilling life. You don’t meet many happy loners, no matter how wealthy, and you don’t find too many miserable people surrounded by friends, family and other loved ones.

Progressives aren’t afraid of collective action, and realize that “government” is just a particularly formal structure for working together to solve common problems and reach common goals. Sure, we recognize that government’s role is not unlimited—and we fight passionately for zones of personal freedom. But we recognize the power of working together, and we don’t have a knee-jerk reaction to all chipping in for the greater good.

Community as a Core Progressive Value

This vastly different orientation towards collective action is a real and clear difference in values. They believe that every man is an island; we believe we’re ultimately all in this together. They would allow the fortunate few to wall themselves off from the unclean masses; we see how we’re all connected as part of a common humanity.

Plenty of real-world policy choices are informed, and sometimes decided, by this value. Examples include public investment in critical infrastructure and services such as education and public transit, holding private actors such as corporations accountable to public goals such as environmental preservation or fair treatment of consumers; and, of course, a willingness to pay taxes to support a strong public sector and critical public services.

When the stark choice between collective effort and stubborn isolation is put to the American people on our terms, we win. We win the larger values-based argument, and we can then make progress on critical issues that fall within our broader framework.

Our Common Values

We all have our favorite issues. Our program director, Adam is kind of a nerd, and he’s really into campaign finance reform. But, what binds us together as progressives is a set of common values that differentiate us from the right wing reactionaries.

Fairness

Progressives take fairness seriously. This means everything from opposing arbitrary discrimination, fighting for real equal opportunity and making polluters pay for the damage they inflict on our environment to promoting economic policies that ensure everyone pays the true cost of their lifestyle choices.

Security

Security is different for progressives than for neoconservatives. Sure, we want to be safe from terrorists. But we also want a safer world for everyone. And, we want the basic safety nets that allow us to pursue our dreams without constantly worrying about whether we can afford to take our kids to the doctor.

What are your progressive values?

Community, fairness, and security are just the beginning. Together, we can build our list of common values so it’s clear to all Americans that we have a coherent vision, not just a random mix of policy preferences.