In today's terms, how would you characterize thoreau's politics? is he very conservative or very progressive? is he somewhere in between?

Three aspects of Thoreau's politics would place him firmly on the progressive side of today's politics. His pacifism would be at odds with the foreign policy of both the Democratic and Republican parties, but anti-militarism is more associated with the left wing than the right. His environmentalism would clearly place him on the American left since the right seems to be wholly owned by the energy extraction industry. Lastly, his abolitionism would clearly put him on the racially progressive left rather than on the side of the increasingly white nationalist American right.