Purity Is Poisoning the Progressive Movement

Hear Me Out

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: the purity test.

Purity, in political science, doesn’t have anything to do with morality. It has to do with whether your policy aligns with your principles.

From “Bernie Bros” to the uncommitted vote against Biden, we’ve seen progressives protect ideological purity… and punish stances that don’t align. An all-or-nothing stance on issues like universal healthcare and student loan forgiveness might sound appealing to voters. But does it doom progress, practically, if an increment isn’t good enough?

Shaniqua McClendon, VP of Politics for Crooked Media, joins us to argue against progressive purity politics.

If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: [e-mail]

Podcast production by Maura Currie.

You can skip all the ads in Hear Me Out by joining Slate Plus! Sign up now at slate.com/hearmeoutplus for just $15 a month for your first three months.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices