The Patriot Post® · Clarence Thomas Torches Progressivism

By Emmy Griffin ·
https://patriotpost.us/articles/126861-clarence-thomas-torches-progressivism-2026-04-20

On Wednesday, the astute Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas gave a speech at the University of Texas at Austin in commemoration of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. As UT President Jim Davis said in his introduction, Justice Thomas is more than just a jurist; he is “someone who has devoted his life to a great experiment.”

Indeed, Thomas focused primarily on the Great American Experiment. After all, a Democratic Republic had never been tried before. It was thanks to thinkers like James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and so many others that this form of government even came to be. It excised the idea of “central planning and administrative rule.” Instead, our Constitution is based on the Lockean philosophy, which holds that all humans are created equal and endowed with natural rights by God.

Thomas’s speech was an indictment of progressive political ideology. Progressives assert that rights come from the government and that individuals should be ruled by the experts, which is antithetical to our Constitution.

Thomas specifically pinpointed the time when progressivism entered the American political mainstream. Namely, it was through President Woodrow Wilson that the idea of "progressivism” was adopted from Otto von Bismarck’s Germany. Wilson espoused the idea that our Constitution was holding us back from more refined forms of government. However, as Thomas pointed out, “The European system that Wilson and the progressives scolded Americans for not adopting, which he called nearly perfect, led to the governments that caused the most awful century that the world has ever seen.” He added, “Fascism — which, after all, was a national socialism — triggered wars in Europe and Asia that killed tens of millions.”

Thomas properly labeled progressivism as “retrogressive.” He quoted 30th President Calvin Coolidge, who said:

If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people.

He also encouraged students in the audience to know what actually is in the Constitution, to judge for themselves the validity of that form of government, to fight for the ideals set forth by the Founding Fathers, and to get involved in making our everyday jobs and politics live up to those ideals.

The Daily Beast labeled Thomas’s thoughtful warning as an “unhinged rant” and “a televised meltdown about ‘intellectuals.’”

Leftists cannot point to any historical good that has sprung from their so-called progressive ideology. They cannot defend that which is contrary to the Constitution — because they only have a vague idea of what even is in the Constitution. Instead, they resort to arguing that Justice Thomas is an old man who is out of touch with reality. That is no argument at all.

As for Thomas, this might be one of the most impressive speeches in defense of the Constitution in this age. It is a pity that there are not more like him in American political life today.

The entire speech and Q&A session are well worth listening to.

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