335: Working by Studs Terkel

Studs Terkel devoted a considerable portion of his radio career to interviewing regular people. In 1974 he published a collection of oral histories with ordinary working people that quickly became a best-seller. This collection provides tremendous insight into what work means to American workers and how they look for meaning in their work. Definitely a classic.

Why this is progressive/liberal: It's a truism that progressives are more concerned with the people working the jobs than the people creating the jobs. While this truism falls apart under close investigation, it also contains a seed of truth. Terkel's interest in regular working folk reflects a traditionally progressive interest. Workers have value, and work gives people purpose. It is more important than simply the profit it can provide the owners.

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336: Winner-Take-All Politics by Jacob S. Hacker & Paul Pierson

Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer--and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class by Jacob S. Hacker & Paul Pierson

Maintaining a strong middle-class is an important part of the progressive philosophy. Reading this book will help explain why government regulations and keeping corporations restrained by government are essential to keeping a strong middle-class.

From the publisher's description:

We all know that the very rich have gotten a lot richer these past few decades while most Americans haven't. In fact, the exorbitantly paid have continued to thrive during the current economic crisis, even as the rest of Americans have continued to fall behind. Why do the "haveit- alls" have so much more? And how have they managed to restructure the economy to reap the lion's share of the gains and shift the costs of their new economic playground downward, tearing new holes in the safety net and saddling all of us with increased debt and risk? Lots of so-called experts claim to have solved this great mystery, but no one has really gotten to the bottom of it—until now.

Why this is progressive/liberal: Hacker and Pierson clearly lay out why the problems facing progressives can't be solved simply by choosing one party over another. Legislation is increasingly rigged to favor the ultra-rich and the corporations that help them increase their wealth. Over the last 30 years deregulation hasn't helped create a level playing field, instead it's given the advantage to corporations and the super-wealthy.

Buy the Kindle version of this book: Winner-Take-All Politics

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337: The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

The Gulag Archipelago Volume 1: An Experiment in Literary Investigation by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Perhaps the most annoying tic of today's political right is conflating modern American progressivism with the tyrannical "socialist" governments of the 20th century. (Almost as annoying is the widespread ignorance among progressives about where those arguments originate.)

The thing about socialism, liberalism, Christianity, Islam, atheism, etc. is that anyone can adopt the mantle. Just as no one seriously believes Ander Breivik represents Christianity, no serious person thinks Stalin represents Marxism. Mao is no more a metonym for atheism, than Hitler is for Catholicism.

If, however, you're not sure why almost every American socialist and communist rejected the Soviet Union as a model of collectivism, then read Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago.

Why this is progressive/liberal: While Americans pat themselves on the back for their commitment to the concepts of liberty, the truth is we imprison a higher percentage of our population than any nation on Earth. While our prison system isn't as devastating as Stalin's work camps, reading these books might hit closer to home than you'd like.

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338: Orientalism by Edward Said

Orientalism by Edward Said

Said's Orientalism is a cornerstone text in postcolonial studies. Much of western civilization's understanding of non-western cultures is based on studying interpretations of that culture rather than studying that culture. Said authoritatively demonstrates how the west's profound misunderstanding of the "Orient" colors real-world interaction between the east and west. If you want to understand how we unthinkingly make assumptions about cultural "others", read this book.

Why this is progressive/liberal: While conservatives all too frequently label progressives as collectivists, progressives are generally hesitant to attribute the actions of a small portion of a group to the entire group (i.e. make arguments based on collectivist identity). For example, progressives are more likely to say that Muslim terrorists are terrorists who happen to be Muslim, whereas the political right is more inclined to say that because some Muslims are terrorists, then Islam must be held accountable. Said explains why arguments based on collectivist identities are often incorrect.

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339: For the Common Defense by Allan Millett & Peter Maslowski

For the Common Defense by Allan Millett & Peter Maslowski

Progressives who never served in the military tend to overestimate its conservative population. Progressives who have served in the military tend to accept the self-serving nature of the propaganda they received while training. Millett and Maslowski's tremendous one-volume history of the US military provides an important background helpful to both camps.

In order to understand why the laws governing the military are the way they are it's important to understand the role of the militia in the pre-Revolutionary era. Millett and Maslowski start with the first militia at Jamestown and carry through with the development of the American-style militia until the Revolutionary War. The history of the militia, and not wanting to have a standing army like the British, deeply influenced the structure of the US military in those early days. The latest editions of the book continue the history of the US military until Desert Storm.

The reason we have a second amendment is not so that we can overthrow the government if it becomes tyrannical. The reason we have a second amendment is so that we can keep our standing army small, and still have the firepower to repel an invasion if necessary.

Why this is progressive/liberal: Too often of late the conservative elements of our society claim legitimacy for their ideas by quoting our revolutionary forebears out of context. Progressives need to be able to counter these distortions with well-researched facts, arguments, and evidence. For the Common Defense helps provide much of that information when it comes to the military.

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340: Holy Texts

The Qur'an, The Bhagavad Gita, The Analects of Confucius, and The Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu

Go to the source. Instead of trusting the conflicting interpretations you hear about religion it's better to read the actual book. In November I'll have a post about the Bible. In the meantime check out the works listed here.

Why this is progressive/liberal: There are many progressive ideas in all the various holy texts, just as there are many conservative ideas, shocking ideas, moral tales, and notes of grace. Consider this an educational moment for the progressive rather than an explanation of progressive philosophy.

Buy the Kindle versions: The Qur'an, Bhagavad-gita, The Analects of Confucius, and The Tao te Ching of Lao Tzu.

341: The Tangled Bank by Carl Zimmer

The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution by Carl Zimmer

Regardless of our ideological persuasion we often accept certain beliefs because of the authority of those who first exposed us to the idea. We chose faith over science because we trusted our parents and our priest. We chose science over faith because we trusted our parents and our middle school chemistry teacher.

We may self-identify as science-loving progressives, but still not be sure why intelligent design shouldn't be taught alongside the theory of natural selection.

Here's why - one of the foundational elements of science is its predictive ability. The theory of evolution has correctly predicted quite a few biological discoveries.

If your interpretation of the natural world is correct, you should be able to predict what's going to happen next. We landed a satellite on Mars because science and math helped us understand the orbit of the planets and the gravity of the sun. We didn't just keep shooting machines into the sky until we got lucky. We used science.

The theory of evolution does not address the origin of life. Nor should it be dismissed because of the word "theory." Rejecting the theory of gravity does not make gravity vanish. Nor does rejecting the theory of evolution make all the evidence supporting it vanish.

Why this is progressive/liberal: Progressives want to see the role of citizenship expanded to as many people in the population as possible. Democracy, however, is no guarantee for honorable, successful, or ethical government. The best possible government comes from a population with the best possible education. The best possible education gives you the tools to predict the results of your actions. There's no such thing as perfect prediction, but every little bit helps. For several hundred years now science has proven itself a better predictor of the natural world than religion. To understand the biological sciences you need to understand evolution.

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And, while we're on the topic of evolution, let me also recommend The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins, Intelligent Thought: Science versus the Intelligent Design Movement edited by John Brockman, and The Origin Of Species by Charles Darwin.