Why do liberals call themselves progressive?

Answer 1

The liberals write the history books. They do not describe the massive historical failures of their policies. You may have heard about the genocide of the Armenians by the Turks. The textbooks were silent about the hundreds of millions killed by the communists. "One death is a tragedy. Millions of deaths are statistics," Joe Stalin. The liberals write the history books. They claim their programs work. Their claims get them elected to office.

answer 2. Indeed this is usually an attempt to improve self measure or self worth. Seldom is a moderate descriptor chosen, and almost never, a negative one.

In New Zealand, folk who live in the north, commonly refer to those in the south as The Deep South. But a dictionary of antonyms will show that this derogatory naming is a two edged sword.

Even Fascism, originally created to counter Communism, has failed to hold its lustre.