What it means to be a Progressive

This word progressive and piece is specifically focused on the U.S. context. This is the opinion of me, Trey, and does not necessarily represent the view of all progressive/left leaning folks!

What does it mean to be a progressive? This word has many different caricatures, associations, and people attached to it. And since becoming more active in the bitcoin space the last couple of years, many people have associated my use of the word progressive with many, many things. Most of which I tend to disagree with…

Let’s get into it.

Saying define progressivism is like saying define democracy or liberal democracy - it’s a vague philosophy that can have an almost infinite number of implementation methods. I would agree with the following tenant from wikipedia on progressivism:

“progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, technology, economic development and social organization”

Just as Republicanism has transformed since the days of Lincoln, so too has the progressive movement. For instance, in the early 20th century there were many progressives in the Democratic party that were predisposed to solving societal and economic problems through the sheer force of the U.S. government, in the same way some of them may have approached international affairs with an imperialist lens (and we also have to admit how different the world looked then in the wake of the great depression and world wars). President Theodor Rosevelet was considered a progressive and focused very heavily on government funding for conservation projects and famously expanding government owned national parks throughout the nation. And today, some progressives are similar - I would say Senator Bernie Sanders skews toward a large federal government budget, and solving many socio-economic issues via this mechanism, but is quite isolationist in his international policy.

Many progressives in the early 20th century focused on social justice and pushing for policy and changes to things like child labor laws, minimum wage, workers rights, and women’s right to vote. Seeing progressive values through this lens is what I may boldly say all progressives will probably lean toward - we identify as progressive because we are focused on social justice and bettering the human condition for everyday folks, and particularly those in marginalized communities. I would argue as a progressive that there are structural, and institutionalized forms of biases that need addressing at a societal and structural level such as racism, sexism, classism, ageism, etc. Where progressives may differ is on the mechanism for implementing change - from more libertarian/anarchical to more centralized coordination from the federal government, or a mix depending on the issue and intended outcomes.

Folks should understand that progressivism and being a progressive does not necessarily mean you align with a political party, or the Democratic party of today. Many progressives are vehemently opposed to the candidacy of Joe Biden, and what many feel is the corporatization of the democratic party that has been happening for quite some time. Many progressives, including myself, are vehemently opposed to the U.S. military strategy and the military industrial complex, whereas both parties for decades have been hellbent on increasing military and interventionist foreign policy.

What it means to be a Progressive Bitcoiner

Many bitcoiners, in good faith (not talking to the trolls here), question my use of the word progressive, why we even use this word, and if it hasn’t just been outright hijacked by a more extreme/dystopian group of politicians focused on concentrating as much power and control in the central government as possible. It’s a good point–I have thought about this. But I have found an appreciation for the term, the history and values it aligns with, and regarding The Progressive Bitcoiner podcast, it sends a message that, whatever people have heard about bitcoin, it is not rooted in any political camp, it is not opposed to progressive values, and the FUD from democratic politicians and MSM is poorly assessed and misplaced. That yes, you as a progressive, can and should learn about bitcoin, despite what you may have heard! And that I/we as progressives in bitcoin can help you understand a little better by speaking a shared language and value-set.

Sure, there are many folks that may consider themselves progressive that I would probably disagree with. But I think many politicians in the democratic party (and all parties) have fallen so far from any core values of the progressive movement and instead are focusing on their lives as career politicians, book deals, and proving their “enemies” wrong. Someone like Elizabeth Warren wanting to assemble an “anti-crypto army” is about the least progressive thing I can think of, considering bitcoin is a new technology that can liberate communities, empower individuals, and promote socio-economic freedom for all in ways that were simply not possible before its advent. These politicians have forgotten what they were elected for in the first place: to advocate for their constituents and help people using the power of legislation. And bitcoin won’t necessarily solve this problem I’m afraid, because we need system changes to our political processes like campaign finance reform, term limits, less monopolized power in the DNC and RNC, and more. But that’s a different article for another time…

So when you hear the word progressive, especially by us bitcoiners, try to detach this from political parties, government, and these hypocritical politicians. And no, being a progressive does not mean we want a dystopian communist regime to control our everyday lives.

If someone from the progressive/left, such as myself, also takes an interest in bitcoin or aligns as a “bitcoiner,” you can also assume that we clearly see problems in the way things currently are with our global financial system just as [hopefully] all bitcoiners can attest to. And I view bitcoin as the actualization of the occupy movement, just perhaps without the fictional assumption that capitalism will be destroyed and every problem in the world will be fixed (not that all involved in occupy thought this, but some may have made these fantastical claims). As bitcoiners, we all probably agree on many of the problems bitcoin hopes to address as better money, detached from government and corporate manipulation and control. But our methods of implementation for change, or the value set we approach problems - perhaps a collective v individualistic approach in some cases, we may differ and disagree on. And healthy debate in these areas is a positive thing in a liberal democracy like ours.

Lastly, I’ll say what’s most important to remember is that everyone carries with them their own lived experiences, views, definitions, values, etc. These labels are not a complete definer in and of themselves but a broad association with which to convey ideas, values, and constructive dialogue. In politics and everyday life we seem to have lost the collective ability to dialogue, respectfully disagree, or even agree on anything at all. Hopefully we as bitcoiners can set an example at some point of what a wider, diverse community with some shared core values look like, and that we don’t have to agree on everything but that we can work together for the common good.