Chapter Info (Click Here)
Book No. – 3 (Political Science)
Book Name – A History of Political Thought: Plato to Marx (Subrata Mukherjee & S. Ramaswamy)
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
1. LIFE SKETCH
2. FRENCH REVOLUTION AND ENGLAND
3. POLITICAL IDEAS
4. CRITICISM OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
5. CRITIQUE OF NATURAL RIGHTS AND CONTRACT
6. LIMITS OF REASON
7. CITIZENSHIP AND DEMOCRACY
8. REPRESENTATION AND PITKIN’S ANALYSIS
9. RELIGION AND TOLERATION
10. THE ACTUAL REVOLUTIONARY PROCESS AND BURKE
11. THE BURKE-PAINE DEBATE
12. CONCLUSION
Note: The first chapter of every book is free.
Access this chapter with any subscription below:
- Half Yearly Plan (All Subject)
- Annual Plan (All Subject)
- Political Science (Single Subject)
- CUET PG + Political Science
LANGUAGE
Edmund Burke
Chapter – 9
Table of Contents
- Burke is still relevant today as his ideas represent a classic statement of conservatism, offering solutions to problems that persist in contemporary society.
- His ideas have both strengths and weaknesses, but their historical significance survives even if his general conclusions are criticized.
- Burke has been described as one of the greatest figures in English politics and one of the greatest political thinkers, second only to Bacon.
- Edmund Burke (1729–1797) is regarded as the most important conservative political thinker, and conservatism as a distinct political creed began with him.
- Berlin (1969) described Burke as an ultra-conservative, while Cruise O’Brien (1968) viewed him as a liberal and pluralist opponent of the French Revolution.
- Laski (1920) considered Burke a liberal because of his sympathy toward the USA, Irish, and Indian causes.
- Some view Burke as a progressive conservative, supporting political and economic progress within the framework of England’s established institutions.
- Kramnick (1977) called him “the gravedigger of the Enlightenment” for his strong anti-clericalism and criticism of disembodied rationalism.
- Burke is difficult to classify because of the liberal and conservative elements in his views, as seen in his support for the American Revolution and opposition to the French Revolution.
- Burke was a prolific writer, but much of his writing was situational, not formal political theory.
- His most important political tract emerged as a reaction to the French Revolution of 1789, where he criticized the revolution’s basis and ideology, seeing it as destructive rather than liberating.
- Burke attacked Rousseau for lack of moderation and criticized the Encyclopaedists as having “cold hearts and muddy understandings” and using vulgar, base language.
- Burke thought the revolutionaries, through their hypocrisy, brought about a “black and savage atrocity of mind” for the French people.
- His major work, Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), criticized natural rights, revolutionary change, and concepts like absolute liberty, equality, and democracy as abstract and untested.
- Burke advocated for tradition, continuity, and orderly, evolutionary change, rejecting rationalism in politics.
- Like Hegel, Burke pointed out the complexities of social and political processes, which made rapid revolutionary change dangerous.
- The Burke-Paine debate is one of the most significant discussions on the limits and rationale for drastic political changes.
LIFE SKETCH
- Burke was born in Dublin, Ireland on January 12, 1729, though there is controversy regarding his exact birthdate with multiple dates given.
- He was the son of Richard Burke, a well-known attorney.
- He attended Baltimore School in County Kildare and later studied at Trinity College, Dublin, receiving an AB in 1748.
- In 1750, he moved to London to study law at the Middle Temple but abandoned law to pursue his literary interests.
- In 1757, he married Janes Nugent.
- Burke published A Vindication of Natural Society (1756), where he argued that civilization evolved gradually over time through the efforts of many minds and rejected attempts to remake laws and customs all at once.
- His next major work, A Philosophical Sublime and Beautiful (1757), was his only theoretical work and was praised by Kant. It was inspired by Locke and Montesquieu.
- In 1789, Burke established the Annual Register, a highly regarded source material for the period.
- Burke entered politics and was elected to Parliament in December 1765, gaining fame for his oratory skills and becoming one of the greatest orators of his time.
- He was also a political pamphleteer, with his most famous writings being pamphlets and speeches on contemporary political issues.
- Burke was proud of his consistent stand on various issues, defending them in writings such as An Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs (1791).
- In Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents (1770), Burke criticized the constitution’s subversion by the king’s supporters and was an early defender of political parties.
- He served his party well until the French Revolution of 1789, when he broke ties with his party leader Charles James Fox, after Fox supported the revolutionaries.
- In 1774, Burke delivered his famous speech on American taxation, raising the level of discussion from constitutional rights to the prudence of exercising these rights.
- In 1775, Burke delivered his speech on conciliation with America, advising the English Parliament to avoid theoretical rights and instead practice tolerance and magnanimity.
- Ireland was a special concern for Burke; while critical of oppressive English rule, he defended British sovereignty.
- In 1774, Burke won an election at Bristol, making the observation that a representative had the freedom to differ from their voters for the common good.
- He withdrew from Bristol in 1780 and was later elected from Lord Rockingham’s borough of Malton, where he served until his retirement in 1794.
- In 1780, Burke advocated for administrative reform in his speech on Economical Reform.
- In 1795, he wrote Thoughts and Details on Scarcity, outlining his economic views.
- Burke was deeply concerned with Indian affairs and argued for just treatment of Indians under natural law, even if it harmed British interests in India.
- Burke is most remembered for his defense of the British constitution and his vehement opposition to the French Revolution, which he saw as a threat to Western civilization.
- His Reflections on the Revolution in France was an immediate best-seller and led to a famous controversy between the Conservative Burke and the Radical Paine.
- His main purpose was to defend traditional British institutions over the abstract values of liberty, equality, and fraternity espoused by the French Revolution.
- Burke died on July 9, 1797, remembered as the greatest orator of his time.