From In These Times
By Ken Brociner

George W. Bush will go down in history as one of this country’s worst presidents ever. But there is at least one thing we can genuinely thank him for: He has succeeded in bringing moderates, liberals, and progressives closer together than at any time in decades. But do the many political connections created since Bush took office actually add up to something that can be called a (or “the”) “progressive movement”?

The short answer is – it depends on who you ask. Over the past five or six years, I have been struck by the wide range of answers to this question within progressive circles. Some progressives believe it is premature to talk about the existence of a singular “progressive movement” – as opposed to the existence of a number of separate but related progressive movements. Some even dismiss the importance of the question to begin with – considering the issue either irrelevant or of secondary importance.

The question of whether or not we constitute “a movement” cuts to the very core of just who “we” are at the present moment. How we answer it is bound to shape the programs and strategies we develop in the months and years ahead.

I recently interviewed a few leading intellectuals and activists to find out whether or not they believe it is accurate to say that today – less than four months before the 2008 election – “a progressive movement” actually exists.

Bill Gamson is the co-director of Boston College’s Media/Movement Research and Action Project — and one of the leading scholars in the field of social movement theory. In an email interview last week this is what he had to say:

“Is there a field of actors – formal organizations and/or networks — who are trying to mobilize people for collective action to challenge and change social, political, and economic inequalities? Of course. Sometimes they work in coalitions and sometimes they work independently. Do they always work together harmoniously with a common strategy Of course not. But that doesn’t make them less of a progressive movement. “

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