Originally to be progressive was to believe in progress and to imagine there was a right side to history. But times have changed. What it is to be progressive looks increasingly in question. Science and technology that were once the dream of early 20th-century socialism, are often the the focus of attack. Some of the most radical favour a return to a pre-industrial world. Meanwhile, stability and security, once the rallying cry of conservatives, are now endorsed by many who see themselves as progressive. And across Europe the young, traditionally the drivers of progressive change, are increasingly voting with the right.
Do we have to recognise that without a clear vision of progress we have also lost the idea of what it is to be progressive? Is there a new vision around which a progressive politics can be built? Or was the idea of progress always an illusion, a means of imposing on history the idealistic prejudices of our time?