Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Progressive ideology and the Constitution

Matthew Spalding discusses the anti-foundational approach of progressive ideology to the federal Constitution in this article posted over at First Principles: A New Republic: The Progressive Assault on the Founders' Principles. Spalding provides a good overview of the difference between the progressive mindset and the mindset of the Founding generation. And he does a good job of showing that Abraham Lincoln, far from being a herald of the new progressive era (as many liberal and some libertarian writers contend), harkened back to the Founders' vision of the Constitution bounded by the moral order of natural law and civic virtue enshrined in the Declaration of Independence.

[Cross-posted at my own blog, Libertas et Memoria.]

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Mr Lincoln was conservative in many ways, but he trampled on the Constitution in many, many ways.

One can trace many of our nation's ills today to some of his actions.

Can one claim to uphold the Constitution by means that subvert it?

AP