Progressive conservatism

political ideology

Progressive conservatism is an ideology that tries to unite conservative and progressive ideas. To deal with poverty, the ideology supports the idea of a social safety net. It also supports a limited redistribution of wealth. The people supporting progressive conservatism want to allow the government to regulate markets in the interests of both consumers and producers.[1] Progressive conservatism first arose as a distinct ideology in the United Kingdom under Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli's "One Nation" Toryism.[1][2]

In the UK, the Prime Ministers Disraeli, Stanley Baldwin, Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan,[3] and David Cameron have been described as progressive conservatives.[4][5] The Catholic Church's Rerum Novarum (1891) advocates a progressive conservative doctrine known as social Catholicism.[6]

In the United States, Theodore Roosevelt has been the main figure identified with progressive conservatism as a political tradition. Roosevelt stated that he had "always believed that wise progressivism and wise conservatism go hand in hand".[7] Some people considered the administration of President William Howard Taft to be progressive conservative. Taft described himself as "a believer in progressive conservatism".[8] President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared himself an advocate of "progressive conservatism".[9] In Germany, Chancellor Leo von Caprivi promoted a progressive conservative agenda called the "New Course".[10] In Canada, a variety of conservative governments have been progressive conservative, with Canada's major conservative movement being officially named the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1942 to 2003.[11] In Canada, the Prime Ministers Arthur Meighen, R.B. Bennett, John Diefenbaker, Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney, and Kim Campbell led progressive conservative federal governments.[11]

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 Patrick Dunleavy, Paul Joseph Kelly, Michael Moran. British Political Science: Fifty Years of Political Studies. Oxford, England, UK; Malden, Massachusetts, USA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2000. Pp. 107-108.
  2. Robert Blake. Disraeli. Second Edition. London, England, UK: Eyre & Spottiswoode (Publishers) Ltd, 1967. Pp. 524.
  3. Trevor Russel. The Tory Party: its policies, divisions and future. Penguin, 1978. Pp. 167.
  4. David Marr. "Power Trip: The Political Journey of Kevin Rudd", Issue 38 of Quarterly Essay Series. Black Inc., 2010. Pp. 126. (British Conservative Party leader David Cameron launched the Progressive Conservatism Project at Demos.)
  5. Ruth Lister. Understanding Theories and Concepts in Social Policy. Bristol, England, UK; Portland, Oregon, USA: The Policy Press, 2010. Pp. 53.
  6. Emile F. Sahliyeh. Religious resurgence and politics in the contemporary world. Albany, New York, USA: State University of New York Press, 1990. Pp. 185.
  7. Jonathan Lurie. William Howard Taft: The Travails of a Progressive Conservative. New York, New York, USA: Cambridge University Press, 2012. p. 196
  8. Jonathan Lurie. William Howard Taft: The Travails of a Progressive Conservative. New York, New York, USA: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Pp. ix.
  9. Günter Bischof. "Eisenhower, the Judiciary, and Desegregation" by Stanley I. Kutler, Eisenhower: a centenary assessment. Pp. 98.
  10. John Alden Nichols. Germany after Bismarck, the Caprivi era, 1890-1894: Issue 5. Harvard University Press, 1958. Pp. 260.
  11. 11.0 11.1 Hugh Segal. The Right Balance. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: Douglas & McIntyre, 2011. Pp. 113-148.