THRUST FOR FREEDOM - No. 5

Who is a
PROGRESSIVE?

PROGRESS means a movement forward. Which direction is forward? To man, a change which increases his over-all happiness and betters his over-all condition as an individual represents a forward movement and, hence, PROGRESS.

What represents an increase in over-all happiness or a betterment of over-all condition? This - in all cases - is an individual, subjective evaluation and not proper for one man to decide for another. Nevertheless, for all men these subjective concepts depend upon the absolute protection of property (i.e. capitalism*⁽⁴⁾). Happiness can be pursued successfully only by free men - that is, those who control, in full, their own property.*⁽³⁾ Most men seek happiness in terms of secondary property (tangibles). Some seek it in terms of primary property (ideas and their derivative actions). Some seek both. Everyone’s scale of values is different. One man’s concept of happiness may be another’s concept of unhappiness. All men are different, but they all seek happiness in terms of their own concepts of what kind of property is important to them.

In a society where individual man is free, he produces higher types of property in greater quantity, quality, and diversity. Thereby he betters his condition and increases his happiness (by his own subjective definition). Thus, in a free society, man moves forward - PROGRESSES.

A PROGRESSIVE idea is one whose result produces PROGRESS. A PROGRESSIVE man is one who produces PROGRESSIVE ideas and whose actions are consistent with his ideas. Therefore, a PROGRESSIVE man can add to knowledge, culture, and voluntary associations (primary property building), or he can add to material comfort (secondary property building).*⁽²⁾

It is through achieving superior means of protecting property from plunder that man develops the incentive to create, to produce, and to expand his property. This brings out the best in man and he PROGRESSES.

Capitalism is the societal structure whose mechanism protects property in full.*⁽⁴⁾ It is because of this that Capitalism is the vehicle of Progress! Therefore, those who promote capitalism effectively are, indeed, the true liberals*⁽¹⁾ and the true PROGRESSIVES.

* See THRUST FOR FREEDOM issue number indicated in parenthesis.