I realise the Progressive Left and the Democrat Party are not a monolithic block, but they both oppose Trump’s protectionism, after criticising Free Trade/Globalisation up till now. I am happy to use the definition of progressives from the Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice, which “include trade unionists, environmentalists, anarchists, land rights and indigenous rights activists, organizations promoting human rights and sustainable development, opponents of privatization, and anti-sweatshop campaigners. These groups charge that the policies of corporate globalization have exacerbated global poverty and increased inequality.”

My article was in response to an attack on Trump for rolling back Globalisation by the Left-Wing academics of the World Economic Forum, who allege that it is an attack on Free Trade by the Far-Right:

https://medium.com/world-economic-forum/why-is-the-anti-global-backlash-happening-now-ef9d94d78e14

You are wrong about what you call “the minor quality of life improvements experienced in emerging nations.” Unless you have been to the third world and seen it, you cannot appreciate the vast transfer of wealth from the West to countries like India, China, Bangladesh and Mexico. I have seen whole shanty-towns of cardboard and coke-can shelters replaced by modest two-story brick and tile homes once the same people got jobs in US car assembly plants, because they can now enter the middle class. My objection to Trump’s protectionism is that these third world people will be sacrificed to give the American middle class their jobs back. There has to be a way to be fair to both Americans and the rest of the World. Ironically, Trump says he pulled out of the TPP because he wanted Fair Trade, not just Free Trade.

You hit the nail on the head with Universal Health Care, though.

“a universal single-payer model immediately takes the cost of providing healthcare off the balance sheet of every medium-to-large American company, making all of them immediately more profitable. Enabling such a solution to actually bargain for advantageous pharma pricing, homogenize the cost for major procedures from hospital to hospital, would significantly reduce the cost of care.” Every country who has a Government funded health care system spends about half the cost of the US system and gets better results, especially for the poor.

I support Capitalism because it works to make everyone richer, but I also support a system of laws to enforce ethical behaviour by corporates, wherever they make their widgets. I think we have more common ground than either of us expected.