What is a Progressive?

I like Gary North's explanation:

[T]he standard Progressive party line...has not changed in a century. Progressives want to use state coercion to help shape people’s behavior in ways deemed suitable by Progressives. The word “progressive” means: “nanny with a gun in a disarmed population.” This is why Progressives want gun control. They want a state monopoly of gun ownership. “Nanny has your best interests at heart. You must listen to the nanny. You must do what nanny says.”