Editor’s Note: John Stuart Mill is known elsewhere as “Ben P”
Knowing what you know in 2005, as a liberal (or a progressive, or a radical, or a moderate, or a leftist, or a center-leftist), would you have: opposed the Vietnam War; supported the Civil Rights movement; the women’s movement; the gay rights movement; and supported changes in obscenity laws and the availability of contraceptives?
In other words, we often hear a lot of moaning about how the Democrats (and liberalism more generally) have essentially been a minority party since as early as the 1968 election, often with reference to what is known (and recently popularized by Tom Frank) as the “backlash” narrative. But knowing that this is in part a product of supporting and in many cases, achieving, important progressive gains, is this really such a big deal? In a way, did not mid-20th century liberalism decline because it achieved what it set out to do? Why, then, should we mourn its passing?
I think these are crucial questions folks who are, very broadly understood, on the left hand side of the American political spectrum need to ask themselves, because they get to the very heart of what we are trying to achieve by being activists. In other words, do we participate because our primary goal is to win elections, or to create positive change more generally? For me, ultimately, it is the latter. I am committed to a specific worldview, largely shaped by the thinking of British Victorian liberals (not surprisingly!) like Wm. Gladstone, JS Mill, John Bright, and Richard Cobden, as well as by early 20th century American progressives like Herbert Croly, John Dewey, and Walter Lippman. To the degree to which the circumstances of modern American politics is as it is, I support the Democrats, and strongly so. But not simply because they are “Democrats,” but because they represent the most realistic vehicle to achieve a better society.
Ultimately, I think this distinction gets to the heart of the Democratic Party’s current problems. Democrats too often start out with the question: “how do I win an election?,” and then structure policies accordingly: not with the question, “what kind of society do I want to create?,” and then figure out what kind of compromises need to be made to create a winning coalition. I don’t think its an accident that the Republicans tend to ask the second question first. Most winning political parties do.
