Damon Root at Reason reviews David Southern’s new book on how many “progressives,” including the sainted Woodrow Wilson, supported segregation and other racist government polices. As Root points out, despite the best efforts of today’s left-liberals, you cannot separate the progressives’ racism from their desire to use state power to restructure society to their liking: ” Progressivism itself, in other words, granted the state vast new authority to manage all walks of American life while at the same time weakening traditional checks on government power, including property rights and liberty of contract.” The history of the progressive era offers a cautionary tale for all those who would use state power to promote their vision of a good society, including those “conservatives” who would use state power to promote “family values,” when one supports increased government power, sooner or later one ends up supporting some very ugly policies and people.

Unfortunately, Root does not mention how the progressives’ racism led them to support eugenics and abortion.