Characteristics of a Progressive According to Roosevelt Case Study

Who is a Progressive?
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Characteristics of a Progressive According to Roosevelt
There are several characteristics of a progressive that can be drawn from Roosevelt's speech. First, he considers a progressive as a person who is generally optimistic about life. A progressive also considers that progress is attainable and is ready to be engaged in solving societal problems. The second main characteristic that Roosevelt considers a progressive to have is to be concerned about the negative impacts that have had resulted from industrialization. Certain individuals/ corporations had captured industrialization and used it to exploit both people and the environment. According to Roosevelt, a progressive would be opposed to such exploitation and advocate for industrial practices that favor both people and the environment. Roosevelt further observed that progressives are very passionate about bringing positive change and were willing to use the government's power to ensure that the world around them becomes a better place.
Characteristics of Anti-Progressives
Anti-progressives are individuals whose main motive in life is to accumulate material wealth. These individuals care little about the well-being of other people and that of the environment. As long as they maximize their profits and material possessions, every other thing is secondary. Anti-progressives do not value human dignity and are ready to exploit them at any given opportunity. Considering their characteristics, these people are very hostile towards the idea of progressivism. They highly oppose the ideals of progressivism. These ideals include the protection of consumers, exerting control on corporations, and conserving the environment. Further, anti-progressives encouraged the working class's severe exploitation and aimed to maintain a great wealth disparity between the haves (the rich) and the have nots (the poor).
Types of Activities Anti-Progressives Engaged In
As noted in the previous section, the anti-progressives were immensely opposed to the idea of workers' well-being and environmental conservation. Since their main aim was to use crude methods to attain immeasurable wealth, they sought to establish powerful institutions that would greatly undermine democracy and give them a leeway to avoid the appropriate checks and balances. Further, they would greatly back the protection of certain groups in the society while severely opposing any group that advocated for the views of the majority. Consequently, anti-progressives would harness government power to ensure that public institutions were not democratized. Due to their great endowment with wealth and resources, the anti-progressives had managed to ca...