All the Axial religions, including ancient philosophical schools such as Stoicism and Confucianism, affirm the necessity of regulating desire in order to live in accord with nature—both with our bodies and with the whole of creation. Enlightenment progressivism, in contrast, objectifies nature as a force to be controlled. Control. That is the cornerstone of Sanger's ideology. This is not control over our passions and destructive desires, an ideal Sanger calls "an absurdity". This is control over biology, over nature herself. Sanger's vision of progress is an inversion of ancient wisdom. Rather than curbing our will to live in harmony with nature, we contort nature to unleash our will.

—Abigail Favale, The Genesis of Gender