Progress can be made when commonly-held beliefs about society (and the social, political, artistic, and scientific institutions that comprise it) are questioned, examined, and are potentially subject to change. In an old issue of “Popular Science” that I was recently leafing through, the editor's note read, in so many words, that scientists' job is to question and evaluate beliefs or assumptions about the world around us. Like scientists, progressives apply a similar curiosity and diligence in investigating their surroundings (many scientists have, of course, been progressives). However, progressives (in general), as opposed to focusing primarily on quandaries of the physical world, challenge the status quo of traditional thinking, acceptance, etc.
As the catalysts of societal change, progressives have pushed for more widespread acceptance of varied races and cultures, as well as increasingly nontraditional gender roles; they've been at the forefront of shifts in music, literature, and art; they've hoped (and inspired hope) for better (more representative) representation in our political systems.
Humans require progress in order to remedy the harmful effects of outdated thinking that have constrained the proliferation of new ideas-- ideas that could initiate improvement where it's needed or simply introduce a more wide variety of acceptable alternatives to what has traditionally been deemed appropriate. In the ever-changing social and political climates of our domestic and global communities, progress is made possible by those who imagine that things could be better.
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