Thomas Critiques Progressivism at UT Austin Lecture

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas delivered a pointed critique of progressivism during a public lecture Wednesday at the University of Texas at Austin Law School, describing the political philosophy as a fundamental challenge to the nation's founding principles on the eve of the Declaration of Independence's 250th anniversary.

The event, held in Hogg Memorial Auditorium and livestreamed on C-SPAN, drew students, faculty and viewers to hear Thomas reflect on the document signed in 1776. The longest-serving justice on the bench, Thomas argued that progressivism undermines the core ideas of American governance. "Progressivism seeks to replace the basic premises of the Declaration of Independence and hence our form of government," he said. "It holds that our rights and our dignities come not from God, but from the government. It requires of the people a subservience and weakness incompatible with a Constitution premised on the transcendent origin of our rights."

Thomas, appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1991, spoke for about an hour, emphasizing a perceived decline in national values. He described a growing "spirit of cynicism, rejection, hostility and animus...