Progress Axis Splits Left‑Right

Updated: 2026.09.30 1M ago 4 sources
The article argues that belief in technological and economic growth (a 'progress' axis) can be orthogonal to traditional left‑right positions, producing actors who are progressive about growth and innovation but socially or politically aligned with the right. This reframes political mapping: some disputes labeled as left v. right are actually clashes over whether growth/technology should be treated as the primary moral good. — If the 'progress' axis is distinct, it changes how we interpret coalitions, policy appeals, and who counts as an opponent or ally on issues from regulation to cultural politics.

Sources

Francis Fukuyama on why we’re better than our ancestors
Jonny Thomson 2026.09.30 70% relevant
By arguing that we are 'better than our ancestors' and unpacking moral and institutional advances, Fukuyama gives a conceptual anchor for how beliefs about progress shape political coalitions and cultural divides — the same axis that sorts contemporary partisan disputes (actor: Fukuyama’s normative framing as a political signal).
What Democratic Socialists Want
Fred Block 2026.09.29 66% relevant
This article maps onto the existing idea that political change is increasingly organized around a 'progress' axis rather than traditional left–right categories: it documents Democratic Socialists (DSA, Jacobin-linked authors) pushing for systemic economic transformation (ending capitalist control of productive resources) rather than only policy tweaks, which reframes partisan competition and electoral stakes along an axis of progressive systemic reform versus maintenance of capitalist institutions.
History shows that human progress is a myth
Jonny Thomson 2026.09.10 80% relevant
The article disputes the baseline assumption that history is net‑progressive; that directly connects to the existing idea that 'progress' functions as a political axis and organizing frame across the Left and Right. By denying progress as an automatic trend the piece undercuts the rhetorical and policy arguments that rely on assumed forward movement (e.g., liberal technocratic reforms or progressive moral claims), which is the same lever addressed by the matched idea.
The Rise of the Right-Wing Progressives - by N.S. Lyons
2026.05.04 100% relevant
Lyons’s reading of Andreessen’s manifesto—quotes like “Growth is the ultimate Good” and “Technology is the glory of human ambition”—is used to show a growth/progress-first stance that Lyons calls progressive despite being treated as right‑wing by many journalists.
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