First, the economic roots of the progressive movement
/kloc-In the late 20th century, American economy developed rapidly, industrialized cities rose rapidly, and national wealth increased sharply. From 65438 to 0884, the industrial output value of the United States surpassed the agricultural output value and became an industrial country. By 1894, the total industrial output value of the United States surpassed that of Britain, ranking first in the world. The pace of urbanization is accelerating. From 1860 to 19 10, the urban population of the United States increased from 62 10 to 44.64 million, and from 19.8% to 45.5% [1]. The total wealth of American citizens also increased from $7 billion in 1850 to $88 billion in 1900 [2]. Industrialization has brought rich material wealth to society, but it has not eliminated social poverty. There is a "antinomy" between material wealth and social progress, which has caused public dissatisfaction and social unrest.
First of all, the merger frenzy in the commercial and financial fields is in the ascendant, and monopoly organizations are rapidly increasing and expanding. By 1899, the monopoly organization reached 185, and the total capital reached $3 billion, accounting for1/3 of the national manufacturing capital [3]; The national railway network has been controlled by 190 1 six monopoly companies. Monopoly organizations monopolize production and sales, so that a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises are annexed or bankrupt, and consumers are doomed to be enslaved by them. The economic operation mechanism has been destroyed and economic activities have fallen into chaos. The predatory exploitation of forest and mineral resources by monopoly organizations has sharply reduced the forest area in the United States from 800 million acres before the Civil War to less than 200 million acres per year [4], which has seriously damaged the ecological environment and attracted national attention. Anti-trust voices keep coming and going. In the general election of 1888, both major political parties included anti-monopoly in their election platforms and won the Sherman anti-monopoly law of 1890. Secondly, after entering the monopoly stage, the problems of unfair social distribution and poverty have become more prominent. According to the statistics of Charles B. Spoor in 1896, 1% of Americans hold nearly half of the national wealth; 12% of Americans own nearly 90% of national wealth [5]. In sharp contrast, workers, farmers, immigrants and blacks are increasingly trapped in the abyss of poverty. 1890, there were 500,000 residents living in slums in new york alone [6]. Robert hunter, a famous social activist, estimated that at the turn of the century, at least 6,543.8+million people in the United States (accounting for 654.38+04% of the total population) were in poverty for a long time [7]. Thirdly, the poverty of workers and peasants directly leads to social unrest and class conflict. In 1980s and 1990s, the American workers' movement reached its climax, such as 1886 May Day Movement and urban massacre, 1892 Hometown steel workers' strike, and 1894 Pulmen's strike. The petty bourgeoisie no longer follows the two major political parties, and the movement of civilian political parties, which reflects its wishes, has flourished and spread all over the country.
Faced with social contradictions and class conflicts, people of insight in the ruling class advocate political and economic reforms to ease social contradictions, resist socialist movements and prevent the spread of revolutionary ideas.
Second, the class roots of the progressive movement
The American middle class is the advocate and backbone of the progressive movement. They have been calling for reform and have done a lot of concrete leadership work. /kloc-the American middle class at the end of 0/9 is mainly composed of two parts. Some are small and medium-sized business owners and farmers, also known as the old middle class; The other part is freelancers with strong professional feelings and social responsibility (all kinds of professional and technical personnel, enterprise managers and government civil servants), which is called the new middle class. The middle class, especially the new middle class, is a growing class and a decisive force for social innovation. The absolute number and relative number of the new middle class are growing rapidly. During the period from 1870 to 19 10, the total population of the United States more than tripled, among which the working class tripled, the peasants tripled, the old middle class only tripled, and the new middle class increased nearly eight times, with the number increasing from 750,000 to 56/kloc-0. Because of the sudden emergence of the nouveau riche class, the economic and social status of the middle class has declined relatively, and it hates the overbearing nouveau riche; On the other hand, out of a sense of social responsibility, they exposed and criticized the anti-social and anti-human phenomena brought about by political corruption and industrialization, and gradually embarked on the road of resistance. They were extremely dissatisfied with the two major political parties controlled by minority party leaders, held high the banner of reform, participated in the civil service reform movement and the mixed-race movement in the 1970s and 1980s, and joined the 1892 Freedom * * * and the political party movement. They also took advantage of their profession to set off a "shady exposure" movement in the 1990s and directly advocated social reform. They oppose the "money politics" of monopoly oligarchs, and demand to limit the arrogance of monopoly bourgeoisie, strengthen the federal government's supervision and management of the economy, maintain the normal economic order, and guarantee the development mechanism of equal opportunities. Hofstadter, a famous historian who studied the progressive movement, fairly evaluated the role of the middle class in the progressive movement. "The difference between progressivism and People's Party Doctrine is that the urban middle class not only participated in resisting the tide, but also assumed the leadership responsibility." [9]
The monopoly bourgeoisie is the most powerful class in American society, politics and economy. McGinley, the agent of the monopoly bourgeoisie, was elected president in 1896, which indicated that the monopoly bourgeoisie completely controlled the state power. In essence, the monopoly bourgeoisie is the most conservative and reactionary class. They exploited workers and peasants and suppressed the democratic movement. They regard the workers' movement in the "Great Turbulence" era (1884 ~ 1886) and the Labour Party's participation in the mayoral election in new york in 1886 as the prelude to the proletarian political revolution, and they feel uneasy and worried all the time. A group of far-sighted monopoly bourgeois politicians have realized that serious problems such as political corruption, economic disorder and poverty caused by monopoly will eventually endanger their rule, so it is necessary to implement some reforms that do not harm their fundamental interests. John rockefeller, a representative of Mobil Oil Company, called for a national company law to regulate the company's behavior, and authorized the federal government to supervise financial activities and company capital accounts. In this way, a group of monopoly bourgeois liberals who supported the reform were differentiated from the monopoly bourgeoisie, and theodore roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson were their political representatives. They regard reform as a means to stop the workers' and peasants' revolution and maintain their class rule. Old Roosevelt once said, "The core of my struggle is to save the rich and their followers in this country from destruction. ... because I oppose socialist theory ... I hope to preserve the same opportunities, freedom, peace, justice and order that we once had for our future generations. " [10] Their reform slogans are "efficiency" and "order". Monopoly bourgeois liberals realized the necessity of reform and participated in it, which made it possible for the federal government to lead the nationwide reform.
Workers and peasants are the direct victims of monopoly system. They demand social justice, fair distribution of social wealth, improvement of living standards and improvement of working environment. Their active participation is a necessary guarantee for the reform movement to achieve results. The American Federation of Labor, an organization of American skilled workers, was founded in 1886, with 540,000 members in 1900, and rapidly developed to1670,000 in 1904 [1]. The AFL occupies a leading position in the American workers' movement. Under the leadership of samuel gompers, the AFL pursues the opportunist line, fighting only for immediate economic interests, advocating the theory of consistency of labor and capital interests, and pursuing class cooperation. From 65438 to 0900, more than 30 AFL leaders, including Gompers, joined the American Citizens Union, a big American entrepreneur organization. The activities of the AFL violate the long-term interests of the working class and the socialist cause; But as far as the progressive movement is concerned, the AFL led the working class to actively participate in the social reform movement, and used its cooperative relationship with the bourgeoisie to win some labor and social legislation. The unified organization of unskilled workers was established late, and the World Federation of Industrial Workers was established in 1905. Unskilled workers have the lowest social status and strong fighting ability. They advocate fighting for labor legislation and improving living conditions through strike struggle, and demand the federal government to solve the poverty problem. After the monopoly was formed, farmers were strongly dissatisfied with the high price and differential freight rate extorted by railway monopoly companies, especially those in the central and western regions. The National Farmers' Union and the American Equality Association, the two largest farmers' organizations, led farmers into the anti-monopoly reform movement and defended their rights and interests.
American women fight for equal voting rights with men. 1890 The Women's Union was established to guide women out of the family circle and join the social reform movement. To 19 12, with 654.38+200,000 members. Under the leadership of its chairman, Mrs. Dacker, the Major League organized various activities to fight for women's right to vote, clean food, and protect women workers and child workers, which had a great social impact.
Third, the ideological basis of the progressive movement.
In the era of "free" capitalism, the dominant ideological theory in the United States is philosophical positivism and social Darwinism, and the economic field is free competition and laissez-faire. These traditional ideas hold that man is a passive product of the environment and can only adapt to it; Human society, like nature, is governed by the laws of natural selection, survival of the fittest and survival of the fittest. Oppose government intervention in the economy, "the government with the least management is the best government." After the formation of monopoly system, monopoly oligarchs used these traditional concepts to defend their extortion and "money politics"; At the same time, the anti-human and anti-social consequences brought by industrialization and urbanization worry bourgeois people of insight. They have written many books, attacked outdated concepts and determined to rebuild social concepts and value systems.
Philosophically, william james founded a pragmatic philosophy, thinking that philosophy is a tool, everyone is his own philosopher, and everyone's success or failure depends on his own efforts; Humans can not only adapt to the environment, but also transform it. Subsequently, Dewey developed pragmatism into official philosophy and devoted himself to the social reform movement. In the field of political science, Woodrow Wilson broke the traditional thinking and emphasized that government agencies "should consider less restriction and balance and more coordination and operation of power" [12]. In view of the manipulation of the market economy by monopoly organizations, the government is advocated to manage the economy and intervene in social life. In the field of economics, a group of young economists, represented by Richard T. Alley and Simon N. Patton, founded the American Economic Association in 1885, proposing that the state should guide and manage social and economic life. They declared in the program of the society: "The active participation of the state is an indispensable condition for the progress of human society. Although we admit that industrialized society needs individual initiative and enterprising spirit, we still believe that laissez-faire is politically unsafe and morally unhealthy. " [ 13]
In the field of sociology, lester ward, Charles Cullen and others lashed out at social Darwinism and laissez-faire. Ward pointed out in Dynamic Sociology (1883): "If we regard biological evolution as nature, then social progress is man-made. The fundamental principle of biology is natural selection, and the principle of sociology is artificial selection. Survival of the fittest means survival of the strong and destruction of the weak. If nature evolved by eliminating the weak, then human society developed by protecting the weak. " [14] Ward further expounded that human progress is the result of social control and purposeful activities. In religious circles, a "social gospel movement" was launched to eliminate the disadvantages of capitalist industrialization and safeguard the social justice of Christianity. Moderates in the evangelical movement advocate class cooperation and government intervention in economic activities. Father Behrends said: "Christianity does not think that laissez-faire is appropriate, nor does it recognize that a perfect country is the product of natural laws and unrestricted competition." [15] Washington graton further pointed out that the natural law of human society is not the law of survival and competition, but the law of sympathy, friendship, mutual assistance and care, and hoped that employers and employees would establish a partnership [16]. The radical evangelical movement headed by Hailong and Bryce even shouted "Only through revolution can social problems be solved" [17].
Fourth, the political foundation of the progressive movement.
In the early stage of industrialization, the antinomy between material progress and political and moral degeneration was particularly prominent in the United States. Democracy is distorted and money manipulates politics. This has eroded the national political organism and posed a direct threat to the bourgeois democratic political system. Wilson once said, "The representative of the party group became the director of our government" [18], and the president became a "servant of Congress". Congress is the plaything of party leaders controlled by a few monopoly giants. Monopoly capitalists not only manipulate political elections through the party leader group, place cronies in government organs, control the government's internal affairs and diplomacy, and seek benefits for monopoly companies; Bribery of members of Congress and officials. A company in new york later admitted that in order to prevent a bill against the company from passing [19], it paid nearly one million dollars in bribes in five years. "The great government we supported has been used for personal gain many times" [20]. Political corruption makes the American urban representation system exist in name only. The party leader group controls the municipal government, which is the invisible government of the city.