The Evolution of the Doubling of Life Expectancy

[catherine]

I've always said there's nothing more illiberal than our current crop of liberals, and the term 'progressive' seems more an aspirational vanity tag than a functioning ideology. To be honest, I can't think of a polite term that is descriptive yet non-inflammatory so I've tried to remain consistent in using the 'modern' qualifier when using the term 'liberal'. To me, it emphasizes the ironically oxymoronic nature of the word as currently used.

Progressive is definitely a functioning ideology--look at the early part of the 20th century. Teddy Roosevelt was a Progressive AND a Republican. Fancy that!

And yesterday's Progressive platform doesn't sound all that different from today's.

The platform's main theme was reversing the domination of politics by business interests, which allegedly controlled the Republican and Democratic parties, alike. The platform asserted:
To destroy this invisible Government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.[15]

To that end, the platform called for:

Strict limits and disclosure requirements on political campaign contributions
Registration of lobbyists
Recording and publication of Congressional committee proceedings
In the social sphere, the platform called for:

A national health service to include all existing government medical agencies
Social insurance, to provide for the elderly, the unemployed, and the disabled
Limiting the ability of judges to order injunctions to limit labor strikes
A minimum wage law for women
An eight-hour workday
A federal securities commission
Farm relief
Workers' compensation for work-related injuries
An inheritance tax
The political reforms proposed included:

Women's suffrage
Direct election of senators
Primary elections for state and federal nominations
Easier amending of the United States Constitution[16][17][18]
The platform also urged states to adopt measures for "direct democracy", including:

The recall election (citizens may remove an elected official before the end of his term)
The referendum (citizens may decide on a law by popular vote)
The initiative (citizens may propose a law by petition and enact it by popular vote)
Judicial recall (when a court declares a law unconstitutional, the citizens may override that ruling by popular vote)[19]

[Alan]

And yesterday's Progressive platform doesn't sound all that different from today's.

No it doesn't, and it still maintains strong elements of pure Democracy, commonly known as "tyranny of the majority", wherein the remarkable checks and balances inherent in a Democratic Republic are replaced with the will of the 51%. It's founding principles do not limit governments but rather use governments as the enforcement arm for whatever's popular at the moment. I'm amazed that more people don't find it morally repulsive in principle, although I suppose if people have always lived a life of liberty they lose the sense of importance it brings to their lives, or conversely believe that it's a good thing when applied to themselves but a bad thing for the masses.

I read the other day a minor news item which I thought subtly demonstrated the pernicious effects of unchecked liberalism/progressivism. It seems that the FDA will soon ban the manufacture and sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. Progressives might say, and probably will, that cigarettes and cigars are a major health problem and should be regulated, but the reason given for the menthol ban is that 85% of black smokers prefer menthol cigarettes and we must do something to protect their health, as if they as a group are not capable of making such decisions for themselves. I'm surprised to see absolutely no pushback on that decree and can only surmise that the progressive agenda has imbedded itself so securely in society that we all know it would be racist to decry the FDA's paternalistic racism.

[Teacher Terry]

The ban on menthol cigarettes is a ridiculous overreaction of government. Just like banning oversized sodas in some cities. Prohibited should have taught us that doesn’t work.