As I was re-reading J. Budziszewski’s The Revenge of Conscience and came upon his critique of political progressivism, I thought it helpful to summarize his enumeration of progressive “sins.” With the list, he intends to address the deep intellectual roots (warped ideology), and not merely the negative fruits (e.g. abortion), of progressivism.

The Bible does not articulate a normative Christian political program or a detailed set of policy preferences. Yet, it provides a set of basic beliefs, arising from its narrative of the world, from which we can critique political ideologies and public policies.

And critique we must.

Thus, as I was re-reading J. Budziszewski’s The Revenge of Conscience and came upon his critique of political progressivism, I thought it helpful to summarize his enumeration of progressive “sins.” With the list, he intends to address the deep intellectual roots (warped ideology), and not merely the negative fruits (e.g. abortion), of progressivism.

Budziszewski uses the word “liberalism” more often than “progressivism” but makes clear that the variety of liberalism he is critiquing is progressivism. Here is the list of nine critiques, with minimal commentary on my part (given that I’ve recently written critiques of liberalism and progressivism):

1. Propitiationism: Christianity asks us to do unto others according to their needs, but progressivism replaces needs with wants. It reinforces and enables public fighting for money, government preference, and social esteem (e.g. same-sex marriage). If a unwed mother wants to marry the government instead of a man, the liberals will always find a way to let her.
2. Expropriationism: This is Robin Hood fallacy in which we take from some to help others. In this type of politics, those with power take wealth by force and give it to whomever they wish. Although it is not inherently wrong for government to tax, still taxation should only be for causes such as punishing wrongdoers and commending right doers (1 Pet 2:13-14).
3. Solipsism: This is the error of thinking that humans are essentially self-creating beings who belong to themselves. Historically, not all liberals believed this. John Locke, for example, roots human dignity in our creation by God. But others, such as Kant, argue that each individual is an end in himself.

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