--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The test of a progressive policy is not…" description: "\"“The test of a progressive policy is not private but public, not just rising income and consumption for individuals, but widening the opportunities and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d80/eric-hobsbawm-20660_amartya-sen_the-test-of-a-progressive-policy-is-not_1972054.jpg" --- # The test of a progressive policy is not private but… ![“The test of a progressive policy is not private but public, not just rising income and consumption for individuals, but widening the opportunities and what Amartya Sen calls the 'capabilities' of all through collective action. But that means, it must mean, public non-profit initiative, even if…” quote by Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d80/eric-hobsbawm-20660_amartya-sen_the-test-of-a-progressive-policy-is-not_1972054.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d80/eric-hobsbawm-20660_amartya-sen_the-test-of-a-progressive-policy-is-not_1972054.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d80/eric-hobsbawm-20660_amartya-sen_the-test-of-a-progressive-policy-is-not_1972054.jpg) > ““The test of a progressive policy is not private but public, not just rising income and consumption for individuals, but widening the opportunities and what Amartya Sen calls the 'capabilities' of all through collective action. But that means, it must mean, public non-profit initiative, even if only in redistributing private accumulation. Public decisions aimed at collective social improvement from which all human lives should gain. That is the basis of progressive policy—not maximising economic growth and personal incomes. Nowhere will this be more important than in tackling the greatest problem facing us this century, the environmental crisis. Whatever ideological logo we choose for it, it will mean a major shift away from the free market and towards public action, a bigger shift than the British government has yet envisaged. And, given the acuteness of the economic crisis, probably a fairly rapid shift. Time is not on our side.”” [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Progressive policy should prioritize expanding collective capabilities over private wealth, especially to address environmental crises through public action. **In simple terms:** Public policy must focus on collective well‑being, not just individual wealth. Key Takeaway Prioritize public initiatives that broaden capabilities for all. Themes public policy environment collective action capabilities progressivism Mood urgent determined optimistic Type political philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - government budgeting - climate legislation - social welfare programs - public‑private partnerships Key Concepts Capability approach public economics environmental justice Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance economic growth with capability expansion? - What public actions most effectively address climate change? A Different Perspective Implementation may face political resistance and funding constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Britain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britain/) [Climate change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate-change/) [Collective action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collective-action/) [Economic crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-crisis/) [Economic growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-growth/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Environmental crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental-crisis/) [Environmentalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmentalism/) [Free market](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-market/) [Great recession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-recession/) [Ideology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Progressivism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progressivism/) [Redistribution of wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/redistribution-of-wealth/) [Socialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socialism/) ## Related quotes > [“But a progressive policy needs more than just a bigger break with the economic and moral assumptions of the past 30 years. It needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/but-a-progressive-policy-needs-more-than-just-a-bigger-break-with-the/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [The USA experiences the crisis of ideological and moral values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-zhirinovsky/the-usa-experiences-the-crisis-of-ideological-and-moral-values/) [Vladimir Zhirinovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-zhirinovsky/) > [The ultimate cause of the October Crisis was the ideological embrace of Milton Friedman's warped but still dominant view that "the only social responsibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-pitts/the-ultimate-cause-of-the-october-crisis-was-the-ideological-embrace/) [Chip Pitts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-pitts/) > [“From private pain to public action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/from-private-pain-to-public-action/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Public action should seek to expand the set of opportunities of those who have the least voice and fewest resources and capabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wolfowitz/public-action-should-seek-to-expand-the-set-of-opportunities-of-those/) [Paul Wolfowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wolfowitz/) > [I take it for granted that there's a side of me that loves public action, and there's another side of me that really wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-take-it-for-granted-that-there-s-a-side-of-me-that-loves-public/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [As an activist, you do find yourself directed more toward public action. But I've always tried to use stories from my own life in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/as-an-activist-you-do-find-yourself-directed-more-toward-public/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Social Security mess is another failed progressive policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-demint/social-security-mess-is-another-failed-progressive-policy/) [Jim DeMint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-demint/) > [A 1990 study by the (liberal) Progressive Policy Institute showed that, after controlling for single motherhood, the difference in black and white crime rates disappeared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/a-1990-study-by-the-liberal-progressive-policy-institute-showed-that/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [The way to end corruption is a progressive, policy driven state with proper implementation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-way-to-end-corruption-is-a-progressive-policy-driven-state-with/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [A policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/a-policy-of-freedom-for-the-individual-is-the-only-truly-progressive/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [The SNP are far from radical, but they do have a knack for producing the odd simple, progressive policy that's hard to argue against.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-boyle/the-snp-are-far-from-radical-but-they-do-have-a-knack-for-producing/) [Frankie Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-boyle/) > [The guiding principle that a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy remains as true today as it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-guiding-principle-that-a-policy-of-freedom-for-the-individual-is/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Hey, you got something going here. I think we've got a chance for some progressive policy that actually focuses on poor and working people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/hey-you-got-something-going-here-i-think-we-ve-got-a-chance-for-some/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The plain fact is that recent college grads aren’t in massive pain. They suffered during the Great Recession like everyone else, but all told,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-drum/the-plain-fact-is-that-recent-college-grads-aren-t-in-massive-pain/) [Kevin Drum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-drum/) ## More by Eric Hobsbawm > [All professionals, whether physicists, economists or musicians, live by and for peer judgment, even when they are being paid by people who cannot tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/all-professionals-whether-physicists-economists-or-musicians-live-by/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [Many years later, another Marxian rephrased this as the choice between socialism and barbarity. Which of these will prevail is a question which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/many-years-later-another-marxian-rephrased-this-as-the-choice-between/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [N. S. Khrushchev established his supremacy in the U.S.S.R. after post-Stalinist alarums and excursions (1958-64). This admirable rough diamond, a believer in reform and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/n-s-khrushchev-established-his-supremacy-in-the-u-s-s-r-after-post/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [The only certain thing about the future is that it will surprise even those who have seen furthest into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/the-only-certain-thing-about-the-future-is-that-it-will-surprise-even/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [Nations without a past are contradictions in terms. What makes a nation is the past, what justifies one nation against others is the past,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/nations-without-a-past-are-contradictions-in-terms-what-makes-a/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [As the global expansion of Indian and Chinese restaurants suggests, xenophobia is directed against foreign people, not foreign cultural imports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/as-the-global-expansion-of-indian-and-chinese-restaurants-suggests/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [The imagined community of millions seems more real as a team of eleven named people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/the-imagined-community-of-millions-seems-more-real-as-a-team-of/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [ He\[Napoleon\] had destroyed only one thing: the Jacobin Revolution, the dream of equality, liberty and fraternity, and of the people rising in its majesty… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/he-napoleon-had-destroyed-only-one-thing-the-jacobin-revolution-the/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [It is one of the ironies of this strange century that the most lasting results of the October revolution, whose object was the global…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/it-is-one-of-the-ironies-of-this-strange-century-that-the-most/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [There is not much that even the most socially responsible scientists can do as individuals, or even as a group, about the social consequences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/there-is-not-much-that-even-the-most-socially-responsible-scientists/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [Human beings are not efficiently designed for a capitalist system of production.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/human-beings-are-not-efficiently-designed-for-a-capitalist-system-of/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [Xenophobia looks like becoming the mass ideology of the 20th-century fin-de-siecle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/xenophobia-looks-like-becoming-the-mass-ideology-of-the-20th-century/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [“For, whatever was the case in de Tocqueville's day, not the passion for egalitarianism but an individualist, that is anti-authoritarian, antinomian though curiously legalistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/for-whatever-was-the-case-in-de-tocqueville-s-day-not-the-passion-for/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [Telephone and telegraph were better means of communication than the holy man's telepathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/telephone-and-telegraph-were-better-means-of-communication-than-the/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [No serious historian of nations and nationalism can be a committed political nationalist... Nationalism requires too much belief in what is patently not so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/no-serious-historian-of-nations-and-nationalism-can-be-a-committed/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) [Explore all 29 Eric Hobsbawm quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) ## More Britain quotes > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [In Britain, the press want to kill a show by revealing what's coming up and spoiling the pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-bonneville/in-britain-the-press-want-to-kill-a-show-by-revealing-what-s-coming/) [Hugh Bonneville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-bonneville/) > [If we don't like modern Britain, then it is very unlikely that modern Britain will like us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/if-we-don-t-like-modern-britain-then-it-is-very-unlikely-that-modern/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [It is time Britain put its trust back into the Labour Party. I believe I am the candidate that can make this happen precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-abbott/it-is-time-britain-put-its-trust-back-into-the-labour-party-i-believe/) [Diane Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-abbott/) > [Britain has the IRA and no one cancels concerts there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-osbourne/britain-has-the-ira-and-no-one-cancels-concerts-there/) [Sharon Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-osbourne/) > [The establishment in Britain is certainly against the arts and against education. If something doesn't make a profit, it's invalid, and art doesn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maxwell-davies/the-establishment-in-britain-is-certainly-against-the-arts-and/) [Peter Maxwell Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maxwell-davies/) > [We from every religion feel comfortable in Britain because there is a host. The Church of England is a good host, it has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/we-from-every-religion-feel-comfortable-in-britain-because-there-is-a/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [The larger an English industry was, the more likely it was to go bankrupt, because the English were not naturally corporate people; they disliked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-larger-an-english-industry-was-the-more-likely-it-was-to-go/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [I think the first person to call me 'Britain's Obama' was Martin Bright at the New Statesman. Harriet Harman made the comparison once at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuka-umunna/i-think-the-first-person-to-call-me-britain-s-obama-was-martin-bright/) [Chuka Umunna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuka-umunna/) > [I am the last of Britain's stately homos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/i-am-the-last-of-britain-s-stately-homos/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [ As for whether what happened in Britain improves\[Donald\] Trump's chances of winning, I don't think so. He has the same chances; we may just… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-michael-cillizza/as-for-whether-what-happened-in-britain-improves-donald-trump-s/) [Christopher Michael Cillizza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-michael-cillizza/) > [Britain, like other European states, is not and never will again be in the top-world-power league, so its male leaders can afford to play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-colley/britain-like-other-european-states-is-not-and-never-will-again-be-in/) [Linda Colley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-colley/) > [When you go away, you see where you come from in a different light. I see Scotland, and the rest of Britain, as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/when-you-go-away-you-see-where-you-come-from-in-a-different-light-i/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [It was very hard breaking into the film industry in Britain. I had been to art school, and I was painting and doing commercials.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-scott/it-was-very-hard-breaking-into-the-film-industry-in-britain-i-had/) [Tony Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-scott/) > [Germany has always stood for an E.U. of the 27 countries. But in light of Britain's continued resistance to further integration steps, as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-schauble/germany-has-always-stood-for-an-e-u-of-the-27-countries-but-in-light/) [Wolfgang Schauble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-schauble/) [Browse all 1,648 Britain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britain/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The test of a progressive policy is not private but public, not just rising income and consumption for individuals, but widening the opportunities and what Amartya Sen calls the 'capabilities' of all through collective action. But that means, it must mean, public non-profit initiative, even if only in redistributing private accumulation. Public decisions aimed at collective social improvement from which all human lives should gain. That is the basis of progressive policy—not maximising economic growth and personal incomes. Nowhere will this be more important than in tackling the greatest problem facing us this century, the environmental crisis. Whatever ideological logo we choose for it, it will mean a major shift away from the free market and towards public action, a bigger shift than the British government has yet envisaged. And, given the acuteness of the economic crisis, probably a fairly rapid shift. 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