Historically, Progressives view themselves as "enlightened" social reformers apart from the ignorant and unwashed masses. [[Gay marriage]] for example is considered a progressive social reform.
Progressivism became highly significant during the Age of Enlightenment in Europe, out of the [[racist]] belief that white Europe was demonstrating that societies could "progress" in civility from uncivilized conditions to civilization through strengthening the basis of [[empirical knowledge]] as the foundation of society. Figures of the [[Enlightenment]] had the racist belief that "progress" had universal application to all societies and that these ideas would spread across the world from [[Caucasian|white ]] Europe.
Progressives use the term in contrast to "regressive" policies of their opponents. For example, progressives will ask rhetorically, "Do you want to go back to the 1950s?" implying that women were oppressed by being forced to be [[housewife|housewives]] and men were oppressed by being falsely accused of favoring Communism (see [[McCarthyism]]).