This isn't even about a specific ideology. It's about ego, more than anything else. Liberalism is led in large measure by people like Hillary, whose whole credibility is based upon either where they went to school, or their connections in the academic, political, entertainment triad. It's about thinking you're smarter than everyone else, that you are part of the mover and shaker crowd, that you are guiding the world forward, that you are historic, that you are cool, that you are special. I guarantee that these sentiments, or a variation thereof, are the most important driving forces of the vast majority of those in the Democratic leadership, and those who are activists on the left. The vast majority. Ego, the absolutely number one driving motivation.
Having said that, many of the positions that are held by the self-identified ‘progressives’, like ‘a woman's right to choose’ - i.e. abortion on demand, federally funded abortion, fighting ‘white privilege’, derision and ridicule of religion (except Islam), socialized medicine, anthropomorphic global warming, etc. etc. are just the memorized identifiers that mark them as members of the ‘intellectually elite’. It's actually quite pathetic, like thinking you're something special because you know the difference between Stilton and gorgonzola.