The Great Progressive Mistake 🧵

Progressives wanted two steps forward. Not one inch back. The arc of history bending toward justice, a steady march of progress, each victory building cleanly on the last. No reversals, no setbacks, no counterforces gathering strength in the shadows.

This was the fatal conceit.

I write about tech + humans + philosophy. Farcaster OG. FID 3305 founder of /theindex 

https://www.joanwestenberg.com/

Today's progressives forgot this wisdom. They mistook temporary victories for permanent wins. They celebrated too early, pushed too fast, failed to consolidate their gains before charging toward the next horizon.

They forgot that societies, like rubber bands, can only stretch so far before snapping back. That people need time to integrate change, to make it their own, to feel secure in the new normal before facing the next wave of transformation.

This isn't an argument for moving slower. It's an argument for moving smarter. For understanding that every two steps forward will likely be followed by one step back – and building that rhythm into our expectations and strategies.

The real progress happens in that one step back. That's where we learn what worked and what didn't. Where we strengthen our foundations. Where we turn temporary wins into lasting change.

We ignore this pattern at our peril.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Nature doesn't work this way. Markets don't work this way. Human societies definitely don't work this way. Every action creates an equal and opposite reaction. Every push forward generates pushback. Every transformation carries within it the seeds of its own resistance.

The arrogance of avoiding compromise. As if changing one’s mind was a weakness instead of a sign of strength and flexibility.

The great mistake was not recognizing the importance of SCOTUS to ensuring that progress and fighting for it at all costs.