Prologue
Around the turn of the 20th Century, the industrial revolution was in full swing. Mass production and assembly lines were beginning to develop. Seeing the success in one field, people assumed it would work in other fields, like public schools. Schools that once considered students as customers, under this new vision, began to think of their students as products. They even instituted "quality control" measures, such as standardized tests, to make sure the product was uniformly homogenized.Labor saving devices and inventions were revolutionizing farming and construction, as well as housework. Simultaneously, other ideas, such as the effects of Karl Marx' Communist Manifesto, along with the eugenics movement, were all contributing to the idea that we were 'progressing' into a brave new era of human development. 'Progressivism' was the word given to people who bought into this movement. Of course, it was anything but progress, but political forces like to redefine the language to create buzzwords that will get people to buy into the scheme.
Within a few decades, many of the 'progressive' agenda items were discredited, especially after the real Nazis demonstrated what eugenics and socialism were actually all about. So the 'progressives' renamed themselves 'liberals', and partially eschewed eugenics, but socialism and communism thrived in their minds (the brutality of actual communist implementations, like the USSR, North Vietnam, Red China, etc., drove communism underground for a while, but it's having a mainstream resurgence these days).
About the Buzzwords
The word 'liberal' means of, or pertaining to liberty. But the dictionary actually lists "open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values." as the first definition! Liberty isn't mentioned at all! The word 'progressive' means of, or pertaining to progress. But the dictionary actually lists "(of a group, person, or idea) favoring or implementing social reform or new, liberal ideas." How does this happen? Deliberately! Someone picked a word and started using it for their movement, until the old context was drowned out. The deception was complete!
I understand that words and the language evolve, and words can take on nearly opposite meanings from what they once were. It's just important that we understand that the new meaning is based on a lie, and that the subliminal message is deliberate.
Epilogue
Consider the following: Let's say that in 1913, people of the Republican Party decided to call themselves 'beneficials', on the grounds that ideas like limited government, free markets, equal justice, personal freedom, personal responsibility and charity are beneficial to society, and are superior to any alternatives. After 75 years or so, the first definition for the word 'beneficial' might be "(of a group, person, or idea) favoring or implementing limited government, free markets, equal justice, personal freedom, personal responsibility and charity." Hey, maybe we Classical Liberals should start calling ourselves 'beneficials'!
