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...that you might like to read. It's in four parts. The first part explains why Democrats haven't won landslides despite the fact that the American people side with Democratic issues. Then a strategy is laid out, based on the research showing that the American people will rally around a campaign promising the "common good" ---- here's an excerpt from Part IV. The five postulates for the politics of definition -- the guideposts, questions, and “lines in the sand,” so to speak, that need to be drawn out in order to craft better politics -- are as follows: (1) The starting point for all political organizing and campaigns should be: “What are my core beliefs and principles and how do I best explain them to supporters and skeptics alike?” (2) Every political battle, both proactive and defensive, should represent a basic statement of progressive character and present a clear, concise contrast with conservatives. Do not blur lines. (3) All issue campaigns and agenda items are not equal. Progressives should focus their efforts on issues that can simultaneously strengthen the base and appeal to centrist voters. Progressives must be willing to make sacrifices and tradeoffs -- in terms of coalition building and budgetary concerns -- to achieve their most important agenda items. (4) Escalate battles that expose the extremism of the right or splinter their coalition.
(5) Every political action should highlight three essential progressive attributes: a clear stand on the side of those who lack power, wealth or influence; a deep commitment to the common good; and a strong belief in fairness and opportunity for all.
These recommendations are based on harnessing the best aspects of mobilization (primarily the need to speak with conviction, clarity of vision and, deeply held principles, and to fight hard against conservative tactics) with the best aspects of inoculation (recognizing the importance of more independent, centrist voters and the cultural, social, and security issues that drive them) in order to produce a political framework that is decisively progressive in orientation but with broad appeal.
What are progressives’ core beliefs?
Common good progressivism
From our perspective, the basic philosophical argument that should guide our strategic process and inform our politics is clear: progressives seek to secure the common good. Securing the common good means putting the public interest above narrow self-interest and group demands; working to achieve social and economic conditions that benefit everyone; promoting a personal, governmental and corporate ethic of responsibility and service to others; creating a more open and honest governmental structure that relies upon an engaged and participatory citizenry; and doing more to meet our common responsibilities to aid the disadvantaged, protect our natural resources, and provide opportunities rather than burdens for future generations.
After years of conservative dominance defined by rampant individualism, corruption and greed in American life, the public is ready for a higher national purpose and a greater sense of service and duty to something beyond self-interest alone. The common good represents a clear break with the conservative vision of America as an aggregation of individuals pursuing their own needs with little concern for what unites us a people or for the impacts of our actions on the whole of society. It marks the end of a politics that leaves people to rise and fall on their own without considering the consequences of such actions on peoples’ everyday lives. The common good approach recognizes that government is an essential tool for helping people to pursue their dreams while providing a solid safety net for those left behind. A focus on the common good requires citizens and their leaders to pursue policies and programs that benefit everyone, not just a select few with disproportionate access to the levers of power and influence over decision making.
Common-good progressivism has both personal and governmental requirements. People must assume responsibility for their actions, treat others with respect and decency, and serve their families and communities. Businesses need to assume responsibilities beyond securing the bottom line. They need to take into consideration their communities, workers, and surrounding environments as well as their shareholders when making decisions. Government needs to pursue policies that benefit all and require sacrifices from all. Government should not serve as the defender of narrow group or corporate agendas and should instead seek to protect public goods that promote the national interest.
A primary goal of government in this approach is to ensure basic fairness and opportunity: the civil, legal, and economic arrangements necessary to ensure every American has a real shot at his or her dreams. Common-good progressivism does not guarantee that everybody will be the same, think the same, or get the same material benefits in life; it simply means that people should start from a level playing field and have a reasonable chance at achieving success.
Internationally, common-good progressivism focuses on new and revitalized global leadership grounded in the integrated use of military, economic, and diplomatic power; the just use of force; global engagement; new institutions and networks to deal with intractable problems; and global equity. As in past battles against fascism and totalitarianism, common-good progressives today seek to fight global extremism by using a comprehensive national-security strategy that employs all our strengths for strategic and moral advantage. This requires true leadership and global cooperation rather than the dominant “my-way-or-the-highway” mentality of the conservative majority today.
Progressives should not forget that the common good is a powerful theme in the social teachings of many major faith traditions -- Catholicism and mainline Protestantism, in particular, but in moderate evangelical denominations as well. The principle of the common good is drawn upon in these faiths to guide people towards more thoughtful consideration of their own actions in light of others; to compel political leaders and policy-makers to consider the needs of the entire society; and to check unrestrained individualism that frequently erodes community sensibilities and values.
The goal of the common good in both the secular and faith traditions is a more balanced and considerate populace that seeks to provide the social and economic conditions necessary for all people to lead meaningful and dignified lives.
Building on these common-good values, progressives in the 20th century sought to improve conditions for Americans by harnessing the power of the national government to assist the disadvantaged; to regulate and balance a rapidly developing capitalist economy; and to challenge totalitarian forces across the globe who threatened to undermine democracy and freedom. Progressives relied on strong intermediary forces like labor unions and civil-rights groups to press for reforms. The American business community was pressed by progressive reformers to accept economic regulation and intervention as part of the grand bargain that would ensure profits and provide for a solid middle class with a steadily rising standard of living.
A common-good vision today must be properly updated to meet emerging challenges and institutional arrangements. Common-good progressives understand that the private sector in today’s economy is far better positioned than government to ensure strong growth and job creation. The primary role of government should therefore be to provide the legal, regulatory, and financial incentives to stimulate growth and protect workers and citizens from corruption and abuse. At the same time, many of the issues that led early progressives toward stronger government action in the past remain areas of concern for government today in securing the common good: increasing access to quality health care, improving public education, providing a safe and sound retirement for the elderly, dealing with the effects of stagnant middle-class wages, and protecting the environment.
Common-good progressives also recognize that government alone will not solve the nation’s problems. Strong moral values, personal responsibility, and entrepreneurship are critical assets that help individuals and local communities address many of the societal problems government should not or cannot get involved with. Securing the common good is as much about altering peoples’ internal moral compasses as it is about shifting the overall political discourse in society. Above all, common-good progressivism seeks to restore a common American purpose as a means to ensure shared prosperity and a more peaceful, stable global order.
The common good is not only a concise and clear organizing principle for progressives but also a potentially potent political theme for appealing to voters across the partisan and ideological spectrum. March 2006 research by the Center for American Progress reveals that 68 percent of Americans strongly agree that the “government should be committed to the common good and put the public’s interest above the privileges of the few” (85 percent total agree). Seventy-three percent of Democrats, 62 percent of Independents, and 67 percent of Republicans strongly agree with a common-good focus. A common good progressive theme scored well above typical conservative values themes: for example only 54 percent of Americans strongly agree that “Americans have gotten too far away from God and family,” and just 41 percent strongly agree that “religion is on the decline in America.” Importantly, the study reveals that liberals/progressives hold a 22-point advantage over conservatives on which ideological approach most represents “the common good.” 1
Economic common good
In less abstract terms, a common-good progressive approach would primarily focus on broadly shared economic opportunity and universal programs as the core means for appealing to two blocs of voters that are culturally and socially divergent. Part of the problem with the politics of mobilization and the politics of inoculation is that both approaches tend to elevate the cultural and social conditions of their respective targets without giving proper consideration to what divides each group and what could potentially unite them.
The progressive base is more secular, younger, more urban, less traditional, either highly educated and affluent or less-educated and poor, and much more diverse. In contrast, the centrist targets are more religious and traditional, older, more rural and exurban, more middle and working class and white. There is relatively little in common with these audiences from a social and cultural perspective, a condition that is not likely to change any time soon.
From our point of view, the strongest things that bring these groups together are class-based issues involving economic opportunity, fairness, and the American Dream. We believe that focusing proactively on class-based issues and the state of the global economy -- wrapped in the language and themes of the common good -- is the best way to bring these two blocs together into a functional majority coalition.
Common-good progressivism must therefore speak directly to the typical American’s view of today’s economic challenges and opportunities. As argued in a forthcoming paper by Jacob Hacker and Ruy Teixeira 2, that will require at least two things: first, a combination of backward-looking alarm and forward-looking optimism, and, second, a set of simple, easily conveyed policy ideas for addressing economic insecurity that add up, piece by piece, to a relatively coherent whole with universal appeal. And this in turn requires -- and this may be the biggest challenge -- that Americans come to see politics and government as ultimately on their side.
Perhaps the most important reason growing economic insecurity hasn’t shaken American politics to its foundation is that Americans think that they are on their own in the new world of work and family. And when you think you’re on your own, you are much less likely to trust politicians offering to help -- and much more likely to support those who tell you that fighting economic insecurity is just a matter of increasing personal responsibility and lavishing more tax breaks on IRA-style accounts that people can use to try to deal with economic risks on their own.
“Backward-looking alarm” may sound like a reactionary credo, but it means simply this: People across the board feel that security is slipping away, and nothing motivates voters like the prospect of losing something they already have (behavioral economists call this “loss aversion”). At the same time, Americans do not want to be told that they or their nation is struggling. They want a forward-looking vision that accommodates the changes in the economy and society that they value, one that combines the goal of security and the ideal of opportunity.
While voters generally agree the American Dream is becoming harder to attain for most, and that the economy is not working well for middle-class Americans, they still overwhelmingly believe that they themselves will succeed despite these difficulties. For example, in a 2005 New York Times poll on class in America, 70 percent said they had already attained the American Dream or would attain it in their lifetimes. And, when asked to rate themselves on a 10-point scale from extremely poor (1) to extremely rich (10), both for today and in 10 years, 62 percent rated themselves between 1 and 5 now, but 60 percent said they would be between 6 and 10 in ten years. 3
http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=11455
I urge all Democrats to take time to find and real all four parts of this strategy paper, written by John Halpin and Ruy Teixeira. I have posted only a tiny portion of it. |
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