The Inevitability of the Progressive/Conservative Divide

There is a phenomenon available for all to see. 

Look at any institution in our culture that remains for any significant amount of time. It doesn’t matter if these institutions are religious, political, business related, etc. Given enough time, all of them will develop a progressive wing, which can’t help but focus on what needs to change in order for the organization to survive, and they will also develop a conservative wing which can’t help but focus on what is working that is allowing the organization to survive. 

Both of these instincts are needed for an organization to prosper. If an institution is too slow to respond to necessary change, it will perish. The same is true if it doesn’t respect the portions of the status quo that are working properly to keep it alive. A thriving institution will have a healthy progressive mindset as well as a healthy conservative mindset. It is the tension between the two that provides the balance. 

Understanding this logically, when faced with a problem why would I not want access to the entire spectrum of possible solutions? Why would I limit myself to half the possible solutions? Politicians, or similar stakeholders, may have to stick to their team’s side but most of us are not constrained in such a way. 

It certainly wouldn’t be helpful to drape a moral fabric over the political project, solidifying your side as “morally good” and the other side as “morally suspect”, as it seems many people have done on both sides of the aisle.

There is nothing wrong with supporting one side over the other. When things get heated though, remember, both sides are arguing for what they believe is the common good.