Steve McIntosh: Building a Post-Progressive Movement

For this episode, I’m happy to welcome back one of my first guests on this podcast, my longtime collaborator and cofounder of the Institute for Cultural Evolution, Steve McIntosh. Since that earlier conversation (which you can check out here) Steve has continued his work to bring what he has called a “post-progressive” perspective to the political sphere. Recently, that work has taken an important step forward with the launch of a new media portal, The Post-Progressive Post. This site, to which I’m proud to be a contributor, is designed to bring a fresh, new perspective to politics—one that is neither left, right, nor centrist. Indeed, it attempts to synthesize the best of all three of these political positions by integrating the cultural values from each of America’s three major worldviews: Progressivism, Modernism, and Traditionalism. The launch of this site made it a perfect moment to have Steve back on the podcast and dive deeper into what a post-progressive approach to politics and culture might look like.

Here are a couple of links to items referenced in our conversation:

George Packer, “The Four Americas,” The Atlantic

Steve’s critique of Packer’s article

My first article for the Post-Progressive Post: “Who Wants to Skip the Civil War?”

More about Steve McIntosh

Steve McIntosh, J.D., is a leader in the integral philosophy movement and author of Developmental Politics: How America Can Grow Into a Better Version of Itself (Paragon House, 2020). He is president and cofounder of the Institute for Cultural Evolution, which focuses on the cultural roots of America’s political problems.

Steve is also coauthor, with John Mackey and Carter Phipps, of Conscious Leadership: Elevating Humanity Through Business (Portfolio, 2020) and author of The Presence of the Infinite (Quest, 2015), Evolution’s Purpose (Select Books, 2012), and Integral Consciousness and the Future of Evolution (Paragon House, 2007).

Before becoming a writer and social entrepreneur, Steve had a variety of other successful careers, including founding the consumer products company Now & Zen, and practicing law with one of America’s largest firms. His innovative political thinking has been featured on NPR, USA Today, The Daily Beast, Real Clear Politics, The Hill, The National Journal, and in a wide variety of other media. He is an honors graduate of the University of Virginia Law School, and the University of Southern California Business School. Steve grew up in Los Angeles and now lives in Boulder, Colorado with his wife and two sons.

Learn more about Steve’s work at SteveMcIntosh.com or the Institute for Cultural Evolution