What's the difference between liberalism and progressivism? According to John Podesta, it is the "fire of social justice" that is often born from faith or a belief in a communitarian approach to the common good—as opposed to an individualistic approach. It is, in short, the idea that the current generation can expect to do a little better than the last.
Podesta, former chief-of-staff to President Bill Clinton and current CEO and president of the Center for American Progress, argues in his latest book, "The Power of Progress: How America's Progressive Can (Once Again) Save Our Economy, Our Climate, and Our Country", that the principles of progressivism are pivotal to reinvigorating the economy and solving the big problems of the day, from global warming to health care. Saying that without investment, there is no growth, Podesta outlines how investing in clean energy is crucial to reducing not only the threats from terrorism but from the effects of climate change itself, like the rising price of food or extreme weather events.
Calling the book a must-read for "anyone in government or in the battle of ideas" who hopes to understand progressivism, moderator Walter Isaacson asks Podesta to touch on the biggest challenges the nation faces today. Podesta calls for regulating emissions through a cap-and-trade program, investment in a health care system that focuses on prevention, creation of a school year that reflects contemporary norms (and not the agricultural calendar), and a serious regulation of the financial sector. After all, says Podesta, "We have to build a society in which people feel their opportunities are going to expand."- Aspen Institute
Bio
Walter Isaacson
Walter Isaacson is the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute. He has been the Chairman and CEO of CNN and the Managing Editor of Time Magazine.
He is the author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003) and of Kissinger: A Biography (1992) and is the coauthor of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made (1986). His biography of Albert Einstein - Einstein: His Life and Universe - was released in April 2007.
Isaacson was born on May 20, 1952, in New Orleans. He is a graduate of Harvard College and of Pembroke College of Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.
He began his career at the Sunday Times of London and then the New Orleans Times-Picayune/States-Item. He joined Time Magazine in 1978 and served as a political correspondent, national editor and editor of new media before becoming the magazine's 14th managing editor in 1996. He became Chairman and CEO of CNN in 2001, and then president and CEO of the Aspen Institute in 2003.
He was appointed after Hurricane Katrina to be the vice-chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. He is on the Board of Directors of United Airlines, Tulane University, the National Constitution Center, and he is chairman of the board of Teach for America.
John Podesta
John Podesta is the president and CEO of the Center for American Progress and visiting professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center.
Podesta served as chief of staff to President William J. Clinton from October 1998 until January 2001 and was at that time responsible for directing, managing, and overseeing all policy development, daily operations, Congressional relations, and staff activities of the White House.
He coordinated the work of cabinet agencies with a particular emphasis on the development of federal budget and tax policy and served in the President's Cabinet and as a principal on the National Security Council.
Podesta has also held a number of positions on Capitol Hill, including counselor to Democratic Leader Senator Thomas A. Daschle; chief counsel for the Senate Agriculture Committee; chief minority counsel for the Senate Judiciary Subcommittees on Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks Security and Terrorism and Regulatory Reform; and counsel on the Majority Staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The only way to go is old school conservative values of individual freedom and the rule of law. Neither the DEMS or the GOP value the two anymore and the US is going to suffer even more! Wake up people~!