The New Freedom · Chapter
What Is Progress? explained
Wilson argues that progress is necessary because laws and institutions have failed to keep pace with changing economic and political conditions.
What happens
Wilson argues that progress is necessary because laws and institutions have failed to keep pace with changing economic and political conditions. He uses the Red Queen's race from Alice in Wonderland as a parable, asserting that the United States must run faster just to stay in place. He critiques the Newtonian, mechanistic view of the Constitution, advocating instead for a Darwinian, organic understanding of government as a living thing. He warns against do-nothingism and defends progressivism as a means of preserving, not destroying, the nation's essential institutions.
Themes in this chapter
Economic and Legal Adjustment to Change
Wilson emphasizes that laws must be adjusted to fit new economic facts, especially the rise of great business combinations, or the laws will be damaged.
Government Trusteeship vs. Democracy
Wilson critiques the 'invisible empire' of bosses and special interests that has subverted democratic government, calling for a restoration of popular control.
The Common Man and Popular Wisdom
Wilson defends the capacity of the American people to manage their own affairs, rejecting the 'do-nothingism' that suggests they are not wise enough to touch their own institutions.
Characters to notice
- Alice
Referenced in the parable of the Red Queen from 'Alice Through the Looking-Glass' to illustrate the need for rapid progress just to maintain the current position.
- Jefferson
Mentioned as one of the Founders who wrote of 'the laws of Nature' and 'Nature's God,' reflecting the Newtonian influence on the Constitution.
- Lincoln
Referenced indirectly through the Declaration of Independence; Wilson notes that some citizens have not moved beyond the era of George III and Lincoln's time.
Key passages
“Why, we are just where we were when we started! ... you have to run twice as fast as that to get anywhere else.”
The Red Queen's race illustrates that the United States must make extraordinary efforts just to keep up with changing conditions, let alone achieve real progress.
Wilson uses this parable to argue that current laws and institutions are lagging behind economic and political realities.
“The trouble with the theory is that government is not a machine, but a living thing. It falls, not under the theory of the universe, but under the theory of organic life. It is accountable to Darwin, not to Newton.”
Wilson rejects the mechanistic, Newtonian view of the Constitution, arguing instead that government must be understood as a living organism that evolves with its environment.
This is a central argument of the chapter, advocating for a Darwinian interpretation of the Constitution to allow for necessary change.
“You cannot put a new patch on an old garment without ruining it; it must be not a patch, but something woven into the old fabric, of practically the same pattern, of the same texture and intention.”
Reform must be integrated carefully into existing institutions, not imposed as a superficial fix, in order to preserve the essential character of the nation.
Wilson reassures conservatives that progressivism aims to preserve, not destroy, the nation's foundational traditions.