The active, interventionist approach of the progressives directly challenged social Darwinism, with its insistence on survival of the fittest. A new group of sociologists argued that progress could be advanced more rapidly if people used their intellects to alter their environment. The best statement of this reform Darwinism came from sociologist Lester Frank Ward in his book Dynamic Sociology (1883). Ward insisted the “blind natural forces in society must give way to human foresight.” This theory condemned the laissez-faire approach, insisting that the liberal state should play a more active role in solving social problems.

Efficiency and expertise became progressives’ watchwords. In Drift and Mastery (1914), journalist and critic Walter Lippmann called for skilled “technocrats” to use scientific techniques to control social change. Unlike the Populists, who advocated a greater voice for the masses, progressives, for all their interest in social justice, insisted that experts be put in charge. At its extreme, the application of expertise and social engineering took the form of scientific management.

Frederick Winslow Taylor pioneered “systematized shop management” in 1911. Obsessed with making humans and machines produce more and faster, he meticulously timed workers with a stop watch and attempted to break down their work into its simplest components, one repetitious action after another. He won many converts among corporate managers, but workers hated the monotony of systematized shop management and argued that it led to speedup—pushing workers to produce more in less time and for less pay. Nevertheless many progressives applauded the increased productivity and efficiency of Taylor’s system.