The Conscience of a Progressive

“Essential reading in our current political moment...A valuable roadmap to the power of progressive thinking and policy.” Chuck Collins, Institute for Policy Studies

The Conscience of a Progressive picks up where Senator Barry Goldwater's The Conscience of a Conservative and Paul Krugman's The Conscience of a Liberal leave off. Drawing on more than 45 years of experience as an economist and international educator, Professor Steven Klees delivers a sweeping, accessible examination of how conservatives, liberals, and progressives each see the defining issues of our time, and why the progressive alternative matters now more than ever.

With authority built from decades of research, Klees takes an in-depth look at his specializations: education, economics, poverty and inequality, international development, and capitalism. He also turns his attention to other pressing crises of the modern world: health care, the climate emergency, and war. Throughout the book, Klees gives a fair and careful depiction of how conservatives and liberals see these issues, while focusing on critiques by progressives and the alternatives they offer.

In this landmark work of political economy, readers will:
• Understand conservative, liberal, and progressive perspectives on the defining issues of the 21st century
• Explore a rigorous progressive critique of capitalism, education policy, and global inequality
• Examine urgent contemporary crises, health care, climate change, and war, through a political economy lens
• Gain a framework for evaluating policy debates with clarity, fairness, and evidence
• Discover a genuine progressive alternative for rebuilding a fairer, more sustainable society

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars by readers. Required reading for anyone who wants to understand both the essence and limitations of conservative and liberal thought while exploring a progressive perspective on today's most important social, political, and economic challenges.

Steven Klees is a professor of International Education Policy at the University of Maryland who specializes in education, economics, and international development. He has previously taught at Cornell University, Stanford University, Florida State University, and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil. He has a Ph.D. from Stanford University. His work examines the political economy of education and development. He lives in Silver Spring, MD, USA.