The American Prospect is a quarterly American political magazine dedicated to American liberalism and progressivism.

Based in Washington, D.C., The American Prospect says it aims "to advance liberal and progressive goals through reporting, analysis, and debate about today’s realities and tomorrow’s possibilities.".

Public policy is the principled guide to action taken by the administrative executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues, in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs.

The foundation of public policy is composed of national constitutional laws and regulations.

Further substrates include both judicial interpretations and regulations which are generally authorized by legislation.

Public policy is considered strong when it solves problems efficiently and effectively, serves justice, supports governmental institutions and policies, and encourages active citizenship.

Progressivism is a philosophy based on the Idea of Progress, which asserts that advancements in science, technology, economic development, and social organization are vital to the improvement of the human condition.

Progressivism became highly significant during the Age of Enlightenment in Europe, out of the belief that Europe was demonstrating that societies could progress in civility from barbaric conditions to civilization through strengthening the basis of empirical knowledge as the foundation of society.

Figures of the Enlightenment believed that progress had universal application to all societies and that these ideas would spread across the world from Europe.

Sociologist Robert Nisbet defines five "crucial premises" of the Idea of Progress as being: value of the past; nobility of Western civilization; worth of economic/technological growth; scientific/scholarly knowledge obtained through reason over faith; the intrinsic importance and worth of life on Earth.

Beyond this, the meanings of progressivism have varied over time and from different perspectives.

In social science and politics, power is the ability to influence or outright control the behavior of people.

The term "authority" is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure.

Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as to humans as social beings.

In business, power is often expressed as being "upward" or "downward".

With downward power, a company's superior influences subordinates.

When a company exerts upward power, it is the subordinates who influence the decisions of their leader or leaders.

Politics (from Greek Politiká: Politika, definition "affairs of the cities") is the process of making decisions applying to all members of each group.

More narrowly, it refers to achieving and exercising positions of governance — organized control over a human community, particularly a state.

Furthermore, politics is the study or practice of the distribution of power and resources within a given community (this is usually a hierarchically organized population) as well as the interrelationship(s) between communities.