Glossary

Progressivism

A political tradition that favors using government to promote social reform, economic fairness and expert-led solutions to public problems.

Also called: Progressive movement, progressive politics

Progressivism is a reform tradition that holds society can and should be improved through active government, scientific expertise and social reform. As a historical movement, the Progressive Era (roughly 1890s to 1920s) produced antitrust law, food and drug regulation, the income tax, women's suffrage, the direct election of senators and many city and state reforms.

Progressive thinkers such as Herbert Croly and Woodrow Wilson argued that the Constitution's checks and balances were outdated and that an expert-run administrative state could serve the public interest better. Later, the New Deal and the Great Society carried the approach forward. Today the term is used by the left of the Democratic Party, which favors expanded social programs, stronger regulation, racial and gender equity measures and action on climate.

Conservatives often criticize progressivism for concentrating power in the federal government and in unelected experts, and for what they see as a rejection of limits found in the Founders' design and in natural rights. Progressives respond that markets and traditional institutions fail to protect people from exploitation, and that the Constitution must adapt, a view tied to living constitutionalism. The term overlaps with but differs from socialism and democratic-socialism.

Last reviewed November 8, 2026

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Related terms

Administrative state A term for the federal agencies that make and enforce rules with binding effect, often seen as a fourth branch of government. Socialism An economic and political system in which the means of production are owned or controlled collectively or by the state rather than privately. Democratic socialism A form of socialism that pursues collective ownership or extensive public provision through elections and democratic institutions. Living constitutionalism The view that constitutional meaning can and should evolve over time to reflect changing social conditions and values. Identity politics Political activity organized around group identities such as race, gender or religion, a term used both descriptively and as criticism.