I finally got around to reading the slew of new articles
which argue that we should adopt the “common good” as the foundation of a new
progressive vision for America.
Like Suzanne, I think the “common good” frame may work for domestic policy, but
it comes up short in providing a coherent, democratic alternative to the
discredited amalgam of neo-con posturing and realist essence (i.e. taking the
worst of the two approaches, fusing them together, and letting someone
relatively unintelligent implement them). To their credit, Ruy Teixeira and John
Halpin in their American Prospect series did make a point of mentioning democracy promotion, but
it seemed more like a concession than a commitment. This is the problem – I
don’t know if liberals today really have the stomach for costly,
interventionist “adventures” abroad. I call them adventures because that’s probably
what they’d end up being. Democracy, as I’ve pointed out before, is, by
definition, a risky enterprise characterized by high levels of uncertainty. In
democracies, you’re not supposed to know who will win before people actually
vote. For some, particularly Rovian republicans and Arab dictators, this is a
problem. For small-d and big-D democrats, it usually isn’t (or shouldn’t be).
In an impressive speech to the Take America Back conference, Barak Obama told attending
progressives, “Don't doubt yourselves. We know who we are.” I’m not sure that
we do, at least as far as foreign policy goes. There remains substantial
disagreement among progressives regarding America’s role in the world. But at least now there is a serious discussion underway about the ideas and ideals which will come to guide a progressive foreign policy in the years ahead.
For once, we are beginning to move beyond reflexive criticisms of Bush administration policy and offering bold alternatives to realist neo-isolationism and the belligerence of neo-conservatism. Some of the best efforts in this regard are Madeleine Albright's article on a "Realistic Idealism," Michael Signer's piece on "exemplarism," Peter Beinart's new book, and many others. Give them a read. For all our differences, progressives are finally starting to realize that critiques and policy prescriptions are not enough. Ideas are needed, preferably big ones.
