A dogma, according to Simon Blackburn, is “a belief held unquestioningly and with undefended certainty” (The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996], 109). Progressives flatter themselves that only conservatives (especially those of a religious bent) are dogmatic. This is risible, for in my experience, progressives are every bit as dogmatic as conservatives, if not more so. Here are two flagrant examples of progressive dogmatism:

1. Voting behavior. Progressives think that there is only one basis on which to vote, namely, economic self-interest. When confronted with the fact that many poor and working-class Americans vote Republican, progressives are dumbfounded. It must be false consciousness of the sort Karl Marx (1818-1883) used to insulate his theory from empirical refutation. The masses (progressives say) have internalized the values of their capitalist oppressors! They come to believe that free enterprise benefits them, when in fact it exploits and enslaves them. As for how this happens, progressives postulate many ways. One is the use of manipulative language by Republican candidates, who take advantage of people’s love of country, fear of terrorism, anxiety about cultural loss, and hope of personal improvement (among other powerful emotions). It never crosses progressive minds that poor and working-class Americans care about many things besides economic self-interest. That anything other than a welfare state could actually be in the economic self-interest of poor and working-class Americans is, to the progressive mind, inconceivable.

2. Religious belief. Progressives are convinced that there is no god. They don’t argue for their atheism; they assume it. When confronted with the fact that most people believe in a supreme being and an afterlife, progressives are dumbfounded. The belief (they say) must be rooted in fear, hope, anxiety, bad faith, or some other emotion. People need a stern but loving father, so they invent one (Freud). Those who have social power (the aforementioned capitalists!) induce people to believe in an afterlife so they won’t protest against the injustices of this earthly life (Marx). Religious belief is a misfiring of an evolutionarily useful ability: agent-detection (Darwin). No attempt is made to examine the grounds of religious belief. It can’t possibly be true, so its persistence must be explained naturalistically.

Can you think of other examples of progressive dogmatism?