A New Progressive magazine "Democracy"

This may not have been the best week to have come across a new progressive journal. For some reason, the mail piled up and in my mail box on Monday, there was the latest Nation, Dollars and Sense, Rolling Stone,In These Times and Sierra Club's magazine.

I haven't begun to make my way through these, when I learned about a new progressive journal.

Democracy is a quarterly and befitting the internet age, it appears in both print and web versions. You can register on-line and read the journal on-line. The editors write

we launch this endeavor at a time when American politics has grown profoundly unserious. As they have amassed more power for themselves than at any point in nearly a century, conservatives have grown tired in their thinking as it's become clear that their ideas have failed. But instead of stepping into the breach with a coherent response, many progressives have adopted a compulsive fixation on electoral posturing and crafting the message of the day. Progressives too often have come to eschew bold ambition, preferring to take shelter in the safe harbor of "realism" and "competence."

The times demand more. We are undergoing a profound transformation in our economy, in the nature of global realities and national security threats, and the character of American democracy and society. This transformation has rendered obsolete the comfortable assumptions of the 1930s, the 1960s, the 1980s–and even the 1990s. As progressives have during previous times of similar flux, we must craft a response that moves beyond the mere criticism of the right wing or a rigid adherence to the past. We need a twenty-first-century progressivism that builds on our proud history, is true to our central values, and is relevant to our times.

Democracy will serve as a place where ideas can be developed and important debates can be spurred. We see our role as upsetting accepted assumptions and pushing the boundaries of what is accepted by, and expected from, progressives. We believe that many of the old cleavages that divided progressives in the last century have been rendered irrelevant and, if you agree, we hope you’ll comment on the pieces you read here, offer new ideas and arguments, and enter the debate. Now is the time to fashion a new progressivism for the twenty-first century and we welcome all who are willing to join in this conversation.

Here are the features and book reviews from the first issue. Descriptions are from Demoracy's TOC.

• The New Biopolitics Jedediah Purdy:

In a time of globalization and terrorism, Americans have learned to worry about what happens in foreign schools, on foreign battlefields, and in foreign houses of worship. With a male baby boom in Asia and a baby bust in Europe, Americans now may need to worry about what's happening in foreign bedrooms, as well.

• Our Unhealthy Tax Code Jason Furman

The federal government spends more subsidizing Americans' health insurance than on anything except for Social Security, Medicare, and the military. It is the single biggest tax subsidy in the budget-more than twice as large as the mortgage interest deduction. With 46 million uninsured, does anyone think we're really getting our money's worth?

• The Progressive Case for Military Service Kathryn Roth-Douquet

Progressives are fine sending their kids to the Peace Corps. Now it's time to send them to the Marine Corps.

• The Wealth of Neighborhoods Gar Alperovitz

What does it mean when more workers own their companies than belong to labor unions?

• A City on a Hill Michael Signer:

Neoconservatism has failed. Realism compromises our identity. Why exemplarism is the right choice for a post-Bush foreign policy.

There 's als oa reviews by former Oklahoma Congressman Brad Carson of new book on the House of Represenatives and Sarah Wildman looks at books on the European-Muslim conflict. Efraim Karsh (Islamic Imperialism: A History) and Bruce Bawer (While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam Is Destroying the West from Within).

Take a look.