In Defense of Hierarchy and Inequality (EQ 2)

John Winthrop's Defense of Moderate Inequality in "A Model of Christian Charity"

I recently had an essay published by American Reformer. It can be found here. My piece engages a classical piece of political theory written from an explicitly Christian perspective: the Puritan John Winthrop’s sermon, “A Model of Christian Charity.” Winthrop defends inequality and addresses how to deal with desperate human need. I invite you to read my essay.

As a bonus, below you will find a section that was cut from the piece by the editors at American Reformer due to space limitation. In it, I extend my analysis of inequality to the differences between men and women. I would recommend reading my piece before reading the section below.

The Arbitrariness of Sex 

Winthrop’s theory of inequality also informs the debate over sexual equality. The primary aim of the feminist movement has been to mitigate the “arbitrary” distinctions between male and female humans, which are seen as the legacy of a sexist and patriarchal society. Because sex distinctions are unchosen and unfair, it is said, society ought to rectify this inequality by doing everything in its power to allow women to have the same life as men.  

One manifestation of this line of thinking is that abortion rights are necessary to ensure “equality” between men and women. Unwanted pregnancies affect women much more than men and cause women to be more cautious about sex. “Liberating” women sexually, then, requires eliminating the unique consequences of sex that women experience, including pregnancy. Hence the importance of abortion in feminist thought: it allows women to handle their careers and sexual relationships “like a man.” 

Winthrop’s sermon counters this view by showing that—just like monetary inequalities—sex differences are not arbitrary or unjust. God decided that humans should reproduce sexually, and human babies require a lengthy gestation and months or years of breastfeeding after birth, both of which burden women more than men. But women ought not to complain. Neither society nor the state is obligated to remove all of the effects of pregnancy or to ensure that men and women can act in the world in identical ways. The ability to become pregnant, along with other sex differences, is not a curse but a gift.