The Philosophy of the Jackson Progressive:

The greatest evils in the world arise from two illusions:

• the illusion that "We have no choice." This belief manifests itself in various forms, the most prominent ones being the belief in the immutability (and often the depravity) of human nature and the almost religious belief in the justice and rightness of laissez faire economic systems. This is ordinarily the illusion of the right. It is a flight from responsibility.
• the illusion that we can perfect ourselves and our society. This is a corollary of the belief that people and their behavior are solely the product of their environment. This is ordinarily the illusion of the left. It is a flight from responsibility.

Both illusions are dangerous. National Socialism, Fascism and Soviet Communism are only extreme examples of the capacity of these illusions, when acted upon, to wreak evil upon all of us. The world has become a battleground between these two illusions. Both of them have become excuses for the most heinous crimes in history.

We have choices. Not only do we have choices, we are responsible, not only for our individual behavior, but -- as citizens -- for our nation, our society -- even our World. Beyond the laws of physics and thermodynamics, there are no laws that absolutely determine what we do or what our society does. Wemake those choices, both individually and collectively.

We have limitations. At the same time, we are, in fact, limited by our beliefs, our opportunities, our resources, our innate abilities, our character, and, unfortunately, our luck. Nurture and genetics really do make a difference. We are not perfectible and our society is not perfectible; no matter how hard we try to perfect ourselves and our society, it just won't happen.

The truth lies neither in the left or the right or in some middle-of-the-road position that borrows from both sides.

The truth is that we are responsible for everything we do and for everyone and everything our behavior affects, and that responsibility extends to our collective, as well as our individual, behavior. Responsibility is like a seamless web -- we are all connected with each other and ultimately with the entire world. It encompasses the choices we make in our capacity as spouses, as parents, as voters, as stockholders, as corporate officers, as employers, as public officials, and as purchasers of goods, but it extends to the entire planet.