Finished reading: The Revenge of Conscience by J. Budziszewski 📚

An interesting work on the implications of original sin—and its widespread denial—for contemporary American politics. Budziszewski offers a more subtle presentation of conscience than is typical. He suggests that much of our social decay and moral confusion comes not from a weakening of conscience, but rather from our suppression of it, which results in moral energy being redirected and bubbling up in other ways. Since, as Budziszewski explains, knowledge of guilt produces certain “objective needs,” there remains a desire for satisfaction (e.g., confession, atonement, reconciliation, justification), pacified now through non-religious, pseudo forms. In this respect, The Revenge of Conscience comports nicely with Wilfred McClay’s reflections in his seminal essay, “The Strange Persistence of Guilt.”