ABSTRACT
The difficulty of arriving at a definition of the word "progressive" as applied to ideologies, policies, and intellectuals is truly considerable. The term "progressive" is an emotionally charged one because the modern concept of "progress" is the most immediately available term when people want to speak of history as openness on infinite improvement, social emancipation, higher living standards. The progressive assumes that freedom, being the absence of power, is a moral good in itself, used only for noble goals and in self-restraint. The vast involvement of the progressive intellectual with the contemporary world makes it necessary to define three categories according to background, aim, and method. The progressive mentality reveals its inability to deal with political matters. The force of the true Marxist's conviction acts as a temporary stimulant on the progressive fellow-traveler.
