Speed of Society

Progressives are dangerous because they want to move society to one vision of the future: theirs. Conservatives say they don't know the future, and keep the options open.

My job is to pick one vision of the future, a vision that has personal and financial impact on my life. That's my difference to the radical left progressives. They have to skin in the game on the future, just scapegoats.

What does it mean to be progressive and liberal?

It means not having a firm take on where the society is going, and therefore not wasting resources planning the economy. Instead, the resources should be focused on making sure that the agents of change - companies - can evolve and grow sustainably and within a fair market.

Does that make liberals right wing?

I don't think so, but the caveat is that right and left wing is always a relative concept. It's not a firm set of ideas about society. A right wing in Portugal is a pure Democrat in the US.

In this sense, I would be left wing in the US, but right wing in Portugal.

If the options are to be kept open, why not be a conservative?
Conservatives want to control speed of progress. I want to pick less things and move them as fast as possible.

The Portuguese case

The most common argument for someone that is right wing in Portugal is to say that we have a state that is too big and bloated. I disagree. The number of state employees is actually below the EU average. The problem is that they are under qualified and don't have the means and autonomy to grow as professionals.
That is a much, much harder goal than reducing the number of people.