Progressivism is the belief that advancement in technology, economy, social organization, and science will improve the human condition. Progressivism first arose during the Enlightenment in Europe, and then developed as a major movement in the world, especially in the United States. It is similar to socialism in that it also appeals to rationalism and the idea of progress, but unlike socialism its goal is rationalizing and humanizing the capitalist economy rather than overthrowing it.
After World War 2, progressivism evolved as it started to be influenced by the Counterculture as a result of postwar syndrome. There was increased focus on free self-expression, sexual liberation, pacifism and respect for non-Western cultures which were trampled upon by colonialism. Some old-fashioned progressives did not like these changes and moved towards neoconservatism.
During the 2010s, the progressive movement was strong within the Democratic Party and among grassroots organizers, the middle class, and college students, and its major tenets included LGBTQ rights, women's rights, African-American rights, secularism, abortion rights, equal opportunity employment, higher taxes on the wealthy, and multiculturalism. Bernie Sanders, Keith Ellison, and Elizabeth Warren were major leaders of the progressive movement, which challenged centrist Democrats such as Hillary Clinton as well as the Republican Party as a whole, especially Donald Trump's right-wing populist movement. People who disagree with this focus on anti-discrimination activism sometimes call it "regressive left", as opposed to real left represented by pre-WW2 socialists.
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