This issue’s installment in our “First Principles” series takes the problem on directly with excellent pieces by James Kloppenberg, Carmen Sirianni, and Eric Liu. Their essays make a persuasive case for the centrality of citizenship to the progressive agenda.

Also in the issue: Heather Gerken of Yale Law School calls on progressives to rethink their skepticism of federalism. Michael Lind and Lauren Damme offer a new idea to improve eldercare and create jobs at the same time. And Ethan Porter and David Kendall propose a new idea that will make it easier for citizens to see what benefits they draw from the government—and, by extension, why we should care about government in the first place.

The issue also features an impressive lineup in our reviews and responses sections: David Rieff on progressive interventionism. Larry Bartels on the politics of austerity. Michael Dobbs on the fall of the USSR. Daniel T. Rodgers on libertarianism and the Tea Party. Chris Lehmann on using Darwin to explain the economy. Hussein Ibish on the Arab Spring.