Progressive or Postmodern? The Use and Disadvantage of “Founders versus Progressives”

In the last few decades a narrative of American political thought has emerged which attributes the transformation of the American regime over the last century to the Progressive movement. This narrative tells the story of the Founders versus the Progressives, and explains modern liberalism as a departure from the ideas of the Founders. This article argues that, on the whole, the Founders versus Progressives account is descriptively accurate. Nevertheless, there are important difficulties that the account has yet to explain adequately. The article proceeds to identify and explain one of these difficulties, namely the difference between old Progressivism and postmodern Progressivism. For the Founders versus Progressives account to offer a fully compelling explanation of developments in American political thought, it will have to explain how contemporary liberalism and postmodern Progressivism are related to the philosophy of the earlier Progressives.