Its no secret that many leaders in Silicon Valley have libertarian leanings. Ask a startup cofounder or venture capitalist what the government can do to help promote innovation and you are likely to hear that the best thing it can do is get the heck out of the way. It is often said that the tech industry isn't engaged in Washington, and when technology business interests do have money to spend funding policy analysis it is often directed at organizations that focus on arguing against government regulation.

Progressives have not done a good job articulating how their ideas can compliment technology business interests. In order to successfully engage the tech industry, progressives will have to find ways to challenge the assumption that the government that best promotes innovation is the one that governs least. In fact, there are many ways in which a progressive policy agenda can support innovation, particularly by focusing on the security and freedom of individual people, both as citizens and as workers.

The technology industry improves our standard of living by making things more efficient through disruptive, competitive innovation, often at the hands of startup companies. Starting a company to pursue an idea is a risky endeavor. Venture capitalists expect 90% failure rates, and people who work for these companies often end up self employed or unemployed for periods of time.

Consider the various dilemmas faced by a person who has a secure job at a large company and an exciting new idea that might change his or her industry.

One challenge might be access to healthcare. A person with a pre-existing medical condition might think twice about quitting a secure job to start a company if it might be difficult or impossible to obtain health insurance on the individual market. This is also true for employees that startup might hire as it grows, as small companies cannot bargain with insurers on a level playing field with large employers. By advocating for universal healthcare, progressives help ensure that people can get the medical care that they need regardless of what sort of work they choose to do - opening up doors for people who want to strike out and do something risky.

Other facets of the social safety net that progressives advocate, such as unemployment insurance and programs that help people avoid foreclosure, also help limit the personal risks that are taken by people who want to go work for risky, innovative companies that are very likely to fail.

Labor and employment contract laws also play a role. Startups flourish in states that limit the enforcement of non-compete contracts - states where individual people have the right to quit their job at one company and go work for a competitor if they want to.

Startups also benefit from limits to Intellectual Property covenants in employment contracts. Most people have to work for a living. Chances are that someone who has an innovative idea will have it while working for an employer. If that employer owns all of that person's innovative ideas as a condition of their employment, that idea may never see the light of day, particularly if it could be disruptive to the employer's business interests. In California, ideas that people develop on their own time with their own resources cannot be signed away to their employers as a condition of their jobs, and that fact has played a significant role in the development of the technology industry in that state.

There is a great deal of work to be done in promoting labor laws in all 50 states that protect the rights of individuals to work where they want to work and to pursue their own creative inspirations. This sort of policy work is totally consistent with progressive values and would have a significant, positive impact on the vibrancy of our economy.

Another important way that the government can contribute to technological innovation is through funding for basic research. The government can afford to take a more long term view of research than private companies can. More importantly, the government can also investigate areas of inquiry that established business interests are avoiding because it might result in innovations that undermine existing revenue streams.

Of course, the Internet is a platform for communication and expression, and it flourishes as a result of the strong civil liberties protections that our system of government affords. Numerous forces want to tie down the Internet with surveillance and censorship infrastructure in order to accomplish a variety of often reasonable aims. Unfortunately the means that these forces have chosen to employ can limit innovation as well as individual freedom and often produce a variety of negative unintended consequences. Progressives can play a role here by working to find creative policy solutions that help achieve reasonable policy objectives without undermining important Constitutional rights.

The fact is that the tech industry and progressive activists both want the same things - a better future for America with a free people and a vibrant, innovative economy. It is also a fact that progressive values, thought leadership, and policy work can make significant contributions toward an environment that supports innovative risk taking and entrepreneurship. The time has come for progressives and tech industry leaders to figure out that they have a lot more in common than they realize. This post has only just scratched the surface of the important work they can do together.