Would a progressive or a conservative nation prosper?

We are living in a deeply divided nation. One half of the country is pushing progressive socialism, while the other is anchored in conservative principles rooted in a Judeo-Christian worldview. At times, I’ve imagined what would happen if each side could form its own country and build solely on its own ideology. Which one would prosper?

With the political assassination of Charlie Kirk, the tension in our nation could not be more salient. I’ve often said we’ve been in a “civil war without bloodshed” for decades. My prayer is that it stays that way and that assassinations and political violence will not become the new normal.

When we step back from the headlines and look at the principles, history shows that nations built on biblical ethics tend to flourish. Hence, the only thing that could save our nation is a national spiritual awakening that will unify us and restore societal virtue.

1. Economics

Conservative values emphasize low taxation, personal responsibility, entrepreneurship, and the free market. They see wealth creation as something individuals and communities steward, not something managed by the state.

Progressive socialism leans toward collectivism, high taxation, and forced redistribution of wealth. The state becomes the central actor in economic life.

History bears out which model produces prosperity. Nations that protect economic freedom allow for a competitive market, reward hard work, limit government intrusion, create innovation, attract investment, and lift people out of poverty. Those that centralize power often stagnate under bureaucracy and the burden of massive federal debt due to systemic entitlements.

2. Civil government

Conservatives value the separation of powers between family, business, church, and politics. They believe a healthy society has multiple spheres of authority, each functioning under God, distinct but interdependent.

Progressives desire the political state to control or heavily regulate all other spheres of society. This can lead to bureaucratic overreach and the erosion of local freedoms.

The consequence of this difference is stark: decentralization breeds accountability and creativity, while centralization concentrates power, creates generational cycles of dependency, and invites corruption or tyranny.

3. Education

Conservatives put the onus of education on parents. They favor homeschooling, school choice, and freedom to choose between public and private schools.

Progressives argue that the state is responsible for children and should educate them according to its own ideology. Some nations, like Germany, do not even allow homeschooling because they fear parents would build parallel societies with different values.

Education is not neutral. Whoever controls the classroom shapes the next generation’s worldview. The conservative approach honors parental rights; the progressive approach risks making children wards of the state.

4. Religion and rights

Conservatives believe that a nation should be built on the unalienable rights given to us by our Creator. The government exists to secure those rights, not to grant them.

Progressives believe that rights come from laws and from the state. But if the state gives rights, it can also take them away. This leaves progressive societies vulnerable to the whims of political autocrats, as we see today in Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, Russia, and other socialist or authoritarian regimes.

5. Family values

Conservatives believe in binary gender and a civilization built upon the foundation of marriage between one man and one woman. Social science repeatedly shows that children raised by a married father and mother have the best outcomes in mental health, education, and social stability. Progressives promote alternative forms of marriage and family structure. While individuals must be treated with dignity, no amount of social engineering has yet produced a model that outperforms the stable two-parent family for raising children. (The recent violence of those with gender dysphoria is only the tip of the iceberg regarding the psychological trauma and dysfunction produced by the societal breakdown of the traditional family.)

6. National identity

Conservatives believe there should be one overarching vision and culture for a nation, with everyone assimilating as one people. Unity does not mean uniformity, but it does require a shared national story. Like Dr King, they believe that a person should be judged by the content of their character, not by their skin tone.

Progressives often play identity politics, pitting one ethnic group against another or the wealthy against the poor. This kind of politics fragments a society into warring tribes. Rampant ethnic individualism and perpetual grievance undermine the common good.

7. Immigration and borders

Conservatives hold that a nation without functional borders is not a nation at all. They favor legal immigration, proper vetting, and assimilation.

Progressives lean toward open-border policies, allowing entry irrespective of motivation or proper vetting. While compassion for the stranger is biblical, unregulated migration can overwhelm social systems and erode the rule of law.

8. Separation of Church and state

Conservatives interpret the First Amendment as forbidding the state from establishing an official denomination or intruding upon religious freedom, while still allowing faith to inform public life.

Progressives often interpret the First Amendment to mean that religion should be stamped out of the public square. The result is not neutrality but a secular orthodoxy imposed by law.

A nation cannot long endure when its moral and religious foundations are stripped from public life.

9. Civic virtue and social trust

Another overlooked factor is the character of a people. Conservative ethics stress honesty, personal responsibility, compassion, forgiveness, and community service. Citizens are expected to keep promises, honor property and contracts, and help their neighbors. This builds social trust, reduces corruption, and strengthens institutions.

Progressive systems often rely more heavily on administrative enforcement, regulation, and bureaucracy. If individuals expect the state to provide or correct everything, personal responsibility declines. The result is less self-governance, less voluntary charity and benevolence, and more dependence.

Trust and virtue cannot be legislated; they are cultivated in homes, churches, and local communities.

10. Long-term stability and cultural continuity

Nations grounded in biblical or traditional ethics tend to preserve cultural norms over generations: family rituals, religious observances, respect for heritage. This continuity provides a stable identity and resilience in times of crisis.

Progressive experiments promote rapid social change — new gender ideologies, new legal frameworks, and constant redefinition of morality. Innovation is not bad when it comes to technological advances, but it is destabilizing when it comes to morality and ethics.

Evidence and warnings

Social data, economic history, and moral reasoning all point in the same direction. Strong nuclear families produce healthier citizens. Economic freedom produces prosperity. Religious and moral foundations produce social trust. Cultural continuity produces stability.

By contrast, societies that abandon these pillars often face rising crime, economic stagnation, corruption, and social fragmentation. The 20th century illustrated that nations that adopted Marxist socialism in economics drastically reduced their quality of life and, in some cases, collapsed (i.e., the Soviet Union)

My prayer is that we return to the principles that caused our nation to prosper (sans slavery): strong families, limited government, free markets, moral virtue, religious freedom, and cultural continuity. If we do, we will see a renewal that no assassination attempt, no ideology, and no division can stop.