Seattle Blues Wrote:

[i]The progressive view, as far as I can understand it, is that we all prosper together or none of us do. No man or woman has the right to enjoy huge wealth if another can't feed their children. You want to see a society of equals enjoying what you see as the common fruits of what our society gives us.

The conservative view is that the government referees the game, but who wins or loses is up to the players. We commonly provide for what can't or shouldn't be individually provided for, like police or national defense or transportation infrastructure, through the various governing agencies. We shouldn't provide for the specific welfare of specific citizens. And we do this so that in 2 or 4 or 10 generations a vibrant and strong electorate is still doing business as the United States of America.[/i]

Not a bad summary, though wrong in a couple of respects.

First, the Republican/Conservative/Libertarian axis has no problem with social safety nets; some would even countenance entitlement programs, though ones that are at root affordable. This notion, promulgated by many on here, that those of a conservative libertarian bent are heartless cutthroat bastards, is simply a caricature -- and you guys know it. (Of course, we all know "progressives" fart sunshine, right?)

Where a true libertarian, like me, and other conservatives, have a problem, is when the guy with the 7 figure net worth gets Medicare benefits. Or when Barack Obama's favorite company, GE, manages to completely skirt their tax obligation.

Second, the phrase "we all prosper together or none of us do" is so superficially binary and banal as to achieve new levels of unhelpfulness in the political debates. No, the way a society prospes if by -- tada!--creating wealth. And the way you create wealth is to build businesses. There really is no other way. Government can't do that for you.

Third, and finally, I would add one thing to the definition of progressives offered up. And it;s this. Progressives are at root utopians. They honestly believe that if everybody thought like them, acted like them, we would no longer have the horribly unfair disparities among citizenry.

Well, progressives are dreamers. Whenever the progressive vision has had a shot at running the show, things have gone horribly wrong. We will always have the poor. Some will always fail. But in a free enterprise republic, where government is held in check, things will, believe it or not GET better.

And they have -- just think of all the advances in technology, medicine, in any area of human endeavor. In the most progressive arc of social development is when the so-called "progressive" approach is minimized.