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Progressivism appears to be about progress — it’s right there in the name. Progressives, liberals, and the Left more generally say they are advocating for social, racial, and economic progress. 

And yet when you point out how much progress we have already achieved, many progressives deny it. Point out how much police brutality has declined and many progressives will accuse you of racial insensitivity. Point out how much carbon emissions and pollution have declined and people on the Left will accuse you of climate denial. And point out that, in the US, people are freer than ever to choose their romantic partners, and progressive people will insist that you are ignoring a “trans genocide.” 

Certainly, some on the Left recognize the progress we’ve made, when it suits them. Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and other Democrats routinely point to the achievements of the civil rights, women’s rights, and gay rights movements. But activists, students, professors and journalists emphasize that racism, sexism, and homophobia are as bad as ever, and perhaps worse, because they are more insidious. Why is that?

Part of the answer, as usual, is money. NGOs and journalists need to raise the alarm to raise money and sell subscriptions. 

But much of progress denialism comes from people who don’t have an immediate financial interest in hyping societal or environmental problems. Why do they do it?