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Social progressivism is the view that social mores, human nature, and morality are capable of progress through history in a manner similar to that of scientific knowledge. Social progressives believe that there is no inherent value in tradition. They argue that all social arrangements - including marriage, the family and gender roles - are not fixed; rather, they should be changed or updated whenever such a change is for the greater good of society or it benefits the people who wish to engage in those social arrangements. The opposite of social progressivism is called social conservatism.

Social progressives believe that some historical mores are wrong or dogmatic and that present knowledge gained from science and philosophy has disproved many traditional beliefs. In the past, social progressives advocated the right to vote for women. Today, social progressivism in the West generally supports same-sex marriage, birth control, and women's right to choose an abortion.

However, social progressives throughout the world advocate a wide variety of different social changes, and separate groups of social progressives may oppose each other because they support change in different directions. For instance, social progressives may be either left-wing or right-wing, depending on the kind of social mores they wish to change vis-à-vis the status quo. A social progressive advocating drug-legalization in the United States would be seen as left-wing, whereas a social progressive campaigning to outlaw recreational drugs in the Netherlands would be seen as right-wing. In Canada the former federal Progressive Conservative Party often combined a social progressive agenda with a right-wing economic agenda, such as Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's advocation of action on environmental issues, such as acid rain, while advocating a neoliberal economic agenda.

The term social progressivism is not to be confused with social liberalism. Even though both ideologies overlap considerably, the latter refers to a specific kind of liberal ideology (see the relevant article for more information).

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