Why can't progressives talk tough?

[John McCreery]

The following paragraphs were written as part of a political
discussion, but also partly as an exercise in applied anthropology. Any
and all thoughts are welcome.

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On the demsjapan blog, a friend has posted a bit about one of my
favorite authors, George Lakoff. She quotes Lakoff as saying,

   "...the progressive worldview is modeled on a nurturant parent
family. Briefly, it assumes that the world is basically good and can be
made better and that one must work toward that. Children are born good;
parents can make them better."

I feel that Lakoff is basically right about how many progressives
think. I also feel, however, that progressives need to think again.
Nothing in my reading of history suggests that the world is basically
good or that children are born good. If anything, the indifference of
nature to the destruction that natural disasters cause and the long,
bloody record of human affairs supports other conclusions.


The good news is that there is no need whatsoever to assume goodness to
justify progressive stances on issues like building a strong social
safety net, protecting civil liberties, or regulating markets and using
progressive taxation to preserve and grow a strong middle class.

The authors of the Federalist Papers got it right. They didn't assume
that greed, envy and the lust for power would disappear from human
nature. In a manner consistent with Christian theology, they assumed
original sin and created a system of checks and balances. In a totally
tough-minded way, they assumed that evil will always lurk in human
hearts and asked themselves how best to keep it from getting out of
hand.

In the process, I believe, they laid the foundations for a powerful
case against both market and religious fundamentalism, a case that is
infinitely more realistic than any based on the illusion that the world
and our children are inherently good.

It is also a case with strong roots in the Christian tradition. When
scripture says, "For God so loved the world...." the miracle is that He
loves his children in spite of their sins, not because their born a
bunch of goody two-shoes in a world that is still Eden. A progressive
can point with conviction to "Love thy neighbor as thyself" and be
talking about tough love, when tough love is needed.

===================


John L. McCreery
International Vice Chair, Democrats Abroad

Tel 81-45-314-9324
Email mccreery at gol.com

 >>Life isn't fair. Democracy should be. <<