Progressive Conservatism: A New Vision for America
- 13 hours ago
- 6 min read
How Progressive Conservatism Will Usher in Pragmatic Governance, Wise Foreign Policy, and Much-Needed Economic Reform
Op-Ed by Jett James Pruitt
In anticipation of my upcoming book, The Progressive Conservative: What America’s Political Parties Must Do to Win Over Generation Z, a number of friends, colleagues, and journalists have asked me to explain the American version of ‘progressive conservatism’ and what it would entail for U.S. policymaking. The purpose of this Op-Ed is to fully detail all aspects of the concept and term I coined back in 2020 in my first book, Through The Eyes of A Young American.
To summarize up front, America's version of Progressive Conservatism holds the view that all governments are tasked with maximizing the well-being of its population by ensuring national security, creating a sustainable, common-sense saftey net, and fostering a free, welcoming society for each successive generation. It is conceived on the premise that the United States is a force for good in the world, and that our country’s shared values lend it a degree of reverence unparalleled in world history.
Most notably, Progressive Conservatism recognizes that unchecked capitalism and pervasive lack of human connection is causing many Americans to lose faith in the Founding Fathers’ vision of a free republic. Therefore, it is imperative for our country to fix structural economic and societal malaises in order to survive in the long-term — much like a surgeon must carefully remove a malignant tumor in order to save a patient’s life.
For this reason, Progressive Conservatism embraces the notion of a competitive, free-market economy and seeks to nourish entrepreneurship. At the same time, it recognizes the state must intervene in certain economic sectors — including healthcare, housing, food, and water security — that directly affect the physical safety of individuals.
Within this context, Progressive Conservatism supports universal healthcare, rent control policies, and novel methods to prevent or minimize food waste. America’s safety-net system must remain strong and responsive to the needs of all citizens and its legal residents.
Progressive Conservatism embraces the rule of law, while simultaneously seeking to avoid a ‘tyranny of the majority’ that ostracizes political factions or leaders without due process. American society must no longer tolerate double-standard ‘lawfare’ or cancel culture from Republican, Democrat, or third political parties.
Progressive Conservatism holds that a person’s innate dispositions — including race, gender, religion, ethnicity, or creed — do not determine the content of their character and must not serve as a factor in their right for political engagement. Simultaneously, this ideology recognizes that a number of racial groups currently face a unique set of social and economic challenges owing to either centuries of entrenched racism or newly emerged instances of reverse racism. These challenges are best solved via methodical policymaking and a collective shift of thinking to an"American first, bloodline second" order of self-identification.
Simply put, America should evolve into a race-blind society that treats the enduring legacy of systemic racism and protection against reverse racism as a common public policy issue, without the input of polarizing identity politics or communitarianism.
Progressive Conservatism also calls for political leaders to calculate each foreign policy decision in grand strategic terms. In short, grand strategy compels leaders to consider whether the use of brute force, rather than diplomacy, would undermine America’s long-term economic and national security interests. Grand strategy does not amount to appeasement or pacifism, since military force is sometimes necessary to preserve a nation’s core interests. However, it compels leaders to weigh the measures available to them, and then decide which option would be most effective in delivering the most beneficial outcome for all nations involved.
In times of peace, the United States ought to adopt strategic consolidation, an idea combining the concept of ‘peace through strength’ with utilizing soft power to outflank and diplomatically isolate immediate adversaries (e.g., Russia, Iran, and North Korea). The purpose of this strategy is for Washington to redirect resources to expand America’s military arsenal, repair industrial production gaps, and improve public infrastructure.
In addition, Progressive Conservatism rejects the politicization of gender, as both rampant misogyny and misandry is an affront to God’s natural order. Never before in human history have men and women viewed each other with genuine suspicion, distrust, and even hostility on the account of their gender alone.
The physical connection between the two sexes is the most natural process in which life can be created, and the subversion of this relationship through social media and popular discourse, even if trivialized, is an unparalleled evil. Both sexes can navigate modern life in search of personal autonomy and fulfillment without vilifying or demeaning their counterpart. And no one, male or female, should ever feel pressure to procreate or become a parent. Freedom, particularly in this aspect, is paramount.
Progressive Conservatism also views sexuality as a domain that should be completely separated from politics or lawmaking. Adults have the right to engage in consensual sex with another adult as they see fit, and the government ought to ensure essential reproductive services and contraception remain easily accessible and affordable to the general public. However, the respect for personal privacy and sexual agency must be balanced with a true effort to prevent the egregious exploitation of children and women via organized trafficking, forcefully-induced pornography, and genital mutilation.
Progressive Conservatism believes the government ought to sustain a viable economic system that encourages the formation of nuclear families, without necessarily imposing a traditionalist way of life on the American people. The creation of families is simply not a matter of the state, as proven by the reigns of ancient Roman emperors Augustus and Domitian nearly 2,000 years ago.
With this in mind, Progressive Conservatism does, however, value organized religion as an essential pillar of society, while allowing for individualized spiritual movements, atheism, and more. Order and tradition ought to be cultivated by guidance and example, rather than force. For this reason, the President should be encouraged to expand beyond their secular function as head of state and head of government, and unofficially assume the role of America’s foremost moral leader (resembling Rome’s Pontifex Maximus).
Progressive Conservatism calls for a measured approach to legalized abortion, supporting legislation that curbs the practice as a voluntary procedure until the end of the first trimester of pregnancy. The state ought to provide exceptions after this mark if the woman’s life is in danger or if the fetus has a life-ending illness, as determined jointly by a woman and her attending physcian. Abortion ought to be considered a strictly private affair, although alternative options such as adoption and the use of preemptive measures (i.e., easy access to contraception) should be strongly encouraged.
Progressive Conservatism supports protecting vital American industries, including the farming, ranching, and manufacturing sectors, from unfair foreign competition and manipulation schemes. While the ideology generally supports free trade, the recent emergence of ‘economic warfare’ as an instrument of coercion demands the occasional imposition of protectionist trade policies.
Progressive Conservatism recognizes that cultural diversity is a backbone of America’s power and beauty. Under this framework, this ideology calls for a balance between ensuring national security and offering comprehensive immigration reform for migrants who contribute to the U.S. economy and cultural tapestry. For this reason, Progressive Conservatives advocate for a comprehensive amnesty program to allow non-criminal illegal immigrants who crossed our borders before January 1, 2020 an opportunity to apply for citizenship.
Progressive Conservatism supports tailored electoral reform to make American elections fairer and more transparent, including the abolition of gerrymandering and the repeal of Citizens United v. FEC. Simultaneously, the ideology seeks to preserve and protect key political institutions that comprise America’s checks and balances system, including the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the Electoral College.
Finally, Progressive Conservatism holds America is not just a country, but an idea, a project that must be brought to completion.
Our core values are based on the ultimate desire to maximize human fulfillment, and are thus in alignment with God’s will for our species. We did not emerge as a country based on ethnic, geographic, or sectarian factors like virtually every other society in history. Rather, we were, and remain, a republic forged on the unrelenting desire to free humanity from the throes of perpetual ignorance, tyranny, and poverty. It is therefore America’s role to free humanity from interminable suffering through wise, credible stewardship. And thus, the first step to achieving this political-spiritual mission is to address societal ills and structural economic issues afflicting the American people today.
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Jett James Pruitt is a Native American, Pulitzer Prize-nominated author of the bestselling book THROUGH THE EYES OF A YOUNG AMERICAN. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of TheGenZPost.com and a political strategist specializing in Generation Z voter trends. He is currently a B.A. International Politics student at The University of London Institute in Paris. His next book, THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE: What America's Political Parties Must Do To Win Over Generation Z, will be released in major bookstores worldwide early 2027.
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