Some change is inevitable. It can be driven by technology, by economic policies inside a country, by the global economic situation, and by cultural change as populations move around. A progressive politician attempts to ensure that the public benefits from, or at least experiences minimum harm from, changes that are already happening. Further, progressives look to see if they can do anything to improve the quality of people’s lives.
Pragmatic progressives seek to manage change, smoothing its introduction. Radical changes, such as those described in the next sub-section (6.2.5.2), are risky and are unsettling to the population.
Many progressive politicians are collectivists (6.2.3); they aim to improve people's lives by developing and maintaining public services, and by adopting economic policies to protect those who need help. In a democratic political system, these improvements might have been part of the platform upon which the politicians had stood for election.
(This is an archived page: a later version than the one published in Patterns of Power Edition 3a. The latest versions are at book contents).