Better-worded discussion about the Progressives' immanentization of the Eschaton. It might be more accurate to state that the god of Progressives is the State--meaning that they are not atheist, but rather worship a false god.
If the Progressives’ rejection of the Founders’ understanding of natural rights exposes individuals to virtually limitless public interference (or “overlordship”), the Progressive redefinition of individual freedom as spiritual fulfillment basically guarantees it. The constructive aspect of the Progressive refounding of America, in other words, stems from the fact that the Progressive conception of the State finds both its origin, and its ultimate purpose, in a new conception of individual freedom synonymous with the “perfection” or fulfillment of human nature — with, in other words, the realization of the comprehensive human good. Following Hegel, the Progressives widely believed that Freedom consists in the individual’s ability to actualize the spiritual potential inherent in his being, becoming thereby a “perfect” or complete human being. Freedom is thus “something to be achieved,” as Dewey put it, but not through “growth” or change in any indiscriminate or open-ended sense.
Of course, that degenerated quickly into license--and the Uber-State which TR, FDR, and now Obama actualize.
Right. Thomas Sowell has a great book about this titled A Conflict of Visions
ReplyDeleteIt basically breaks down the idea that there are two predominant schools of thought out there concerning human nature.
Constrained: Meaning that human nature is unchanging and selfish. And...
Unconstrained: Human nature is malleable, perfectable.
I'm oversimplifying things a bit here but here's a link in case anyone else is interested.