Did you know that progressivism is, like, so dead? Yes, we are so beyond AOC, Ilhan Omar and Green New Deals. We have progressed beyond this thanks to Neo Pros. Who or what is a Neo Pro, buckle up buckaroo and I'll fill you in. The brainchild of Lawrence Lessig has been around since at least 2012, Neo Pros are like you, but without all the unpleasantness. According to the not so great design of The NeoPro website:
The Neopro approach is not that much different than the old progressive method, where it comes to the goals that need to be achieved. It is shares similar concerns and policy goals concerning the environment, human rights, animal protection and gender equality, among many others, yet the path to achieve those goals is completely different.
The Neopro philosophy takes a more entrepreneurial and strategic approach to achieving these goals. It is a philosophy that provides a better path to solving cultural and political problems. Neoprogressivism understands that issues evolve and that the approach to finding lasting solutions needs to be continuously revamped and improved, just as successful businesses adapt to changing market conditions. Consequently, the people most qualified to lead this movement are people with entrepreneurial and business backgrounds. Real-world experience in dealing with the economic markets and the marketplace of ideas combined with the traditional progressive motivation to work toward the greater good are the hallmarks of Neopro leadership.
So, in other words, it is Capitalists masquerading as Socialsts. And probably, for some, it is an appealing proposition. Trade-in your Green New Deal for a Harvard MBA Strat Plan and let's make some money on green energy!
Not so fast my reactionary leftie, the NeoPros are on to you. The Neo Pros know you: "We call them reactionaries because the (sic) react to any cause they are told to oppose instead of taking a proactive approach to improve the political situation, a characteristic more commonly associated with Neoprogressives. Most progressives are not part of the reactionary left, but unfortunately the reactionary left is currently the most vocal part of the left. The truth is that all progressives have some reactionary in them, and our goal is change that and turn all good-hearted people into more productive progressives."
Yes, productive, strategic work shall set you free, my Chomsky-loving friend. Certainly, you don't want to offend anyone or gore their ox when you can simply outmaneuver them with slick framing and unwavering belief that the market solves everything for the better. Yes, if we were only a little more, what is the word--cooperative (and stayed on the same page).
But even the Neo Progs are not all on board. Some of them have said that this so-called entrepreneurial approach worked until the 1990's but now believe we have to get behind changing the constitution so that we can really get the job done. Thomas J. Main writes:
So the mechanism that is most amenable to non-incremental change would be a realigning election that ushers in a period of unified government. We can call this the presidential/majoritarian model. And we might well see it as the last arrow in America’s constitutional quiver for producing big change.
And if a Democratic landslide did produce a moment of institutional unity? What should be done with it? I would argue that we should focus our energies on improving the capacity of our political institutions for collective action through constitutional reform.
There is a long list of proposed constitutional amendments waiting for their chance, ranging from the elimination of the Electoral College to an amendment that would allow the president to submit a legislative agenda directly to Congress, which would be required promptly to vote the entire package up or down, without amendments, on a strict majoritarian basis.
But if we’re going to go the difficult route of amending the Constitution, the change ought to be even more fundamental: an amendment which changes the amendment process itself.
This idea has, in various ways, already been incorporated into most state constitutions and therefore received ample road testing. The Article V process for amending the Constitution is notoriously daunting, and far more difficult than the amendment process of any other liberal democracy. Why do we assume that this is the optimal design?
State constitutions are vastly more malleable than the federal Constitution. Our federal Constitution has been amended only 27 times—the first 10 being immediately passed as the Bill of Rights—yet only 19 of the states still have their original constitutions. Most states have adopted three or more constitutions. In total, the states have held over 230 constitutional conventions, adopted 146 constitutions, and added over 5,000 amendments.
If this feels at all what the Republicans are proposing or the Libertarians before them, it is because all the power ideas are pretty much the same. Control the laws, control the agenda. Control the process of making laws, power to the people--who are holding it.
It is fair to say that left-leaning people like myself are looking for ideas that support life on this planet for people on this planet. Before I dismiss the above ideology completely, note they may be on to a fundamental problem of leanings--being less flexible about how we get stuff done. It is like the story of the middling anti-war protestor who replied to "What do we want?": Peace. "When want it?": "Now, but if that is not possible, tomorrow or the next day." We could stand to be a trifle more patient, I suppose. The other problem is methodology. It sure would be a whole lot easier for equity to occur if the Constitution were clearer about it. Sure, but you throw a party, you never are completely sure who will show up--and the best ideas don't always win--talking to you 2nd Amendment.
We may need to wade through more suckage before we find a way to manage to have policies that actually put people and planet first, Neo Pros are the latest in a line of hats we try on until we find one that fits.
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