Lester Ward and the Roots of Progressivism

• In Event: Progressivism in Action

Abstract

Lester Ward’s conception of education as outlined in Dynamic Sociology (1883) spanned the two main branches of early 20th century Progressivism. The book’s foundational ideas on the philosophy of social planning contributed to the transformation of American education in the progressive era. Against the new popularity of Social Darwinism and the laissez-faire capitalism favored by the old liberalism, Ward proposed the essential role of state intervention in social problems. Two components of his thought—the necessity of scientifically-directed, state-provided education and the universal right to education for individual growth and achievement—were central pillars of the subsequent progressive movement and touchstones of the new educational liberalism.

Author

• Victor James Sensenig, Washington College