Ebenezer Scrooge - Progressive

It may already have been two weeks since Christmas, but I'm going to learn a lesson from old Scrooge and keep Christmas in my heart all year round. Or at least until today.

And speaking of the old miser, DotPenn offers a somewhat comical, somewhat truthful list of 11 Reasons why Scrooge is a Progressive. Included on the list:

"5. Afraid his majority cultural lens will drown out alternative voices, Scrooge made sure he never said "Merry Christmas." Prefers the more politically-correct "Bah Humbug."

9. Faults the success of the human species for bringing undue burden on the earth and advocates a Darwinian form of genocide to solve the problem of over-population. - 'If they are going to die, they had better do it and decrease the surplus population'"

An article from two years ago that appeared in The Freeman offers a more complete view of why Scrooge is a progressive for his reliance on the "prisons and workhouses" of 19th century England to take care of the poor and homeless.

"The treadmill, poor law, and union workhouses to which Scrooge refers were all punitive government ways of either helping the poor or of giving the poor an incentive not to be poor. So, for example, anyone finding himself in poverty could enter a workhouse where he would work hard and receive some small amount of food in return. The two men who ask Scrooge for aid are not asking for higher amounts of food to be handed out by government agencies. Instead, they are asking for private, voluntary charity to those they deem worthy.

After turning them down, Scrooge goes home and to bed. In the middle of the night he sees, in turn, the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. He sees how he has turned gradually from a loving brother into a bitter, stingy old man. He also sees how unmourned he will be in death if he fails to be generous, with himself and others, in life. When Scrooge wakes up, he realizes that indeed he can change. In my favorite scene in the movie, Scrooge dances around in his nightshirt like a kid in a candy store, celebrating his power to change. And what is the change? Does he say, “Oh, boy, now I’ll support a politician who will tax me, as well as other people less rich than me, to help poor people?” Of course not. An author or a movie producer who tried to set up such a scene would have produced a much less compelling novel or movie. Scrooge is excited because now he can change, now he can get pleasure from helping others who are worse off. In other words, the lesson of A Christmas Carol is the importance of being generous, not the importance of supporting higher taxes on oneself and others.

Indeed, the modern Scrooge, instead of asking, “Are there no prisons?” would ask, “Is there no Medicaid? Are there no food stamps?” The modern Scrooges, in short, are those who advocate government programs for the poor rather than charity for the poor."

So there you have it. Scrooge is a progressive who learns that it is better to give freely of what one has than to expect the state to hand out charity. Not only does it make him a better human being, but it proves the value of charity over the imposed brotherhood that is assumed by the distribution of welfare.