Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke (/ˈbɜːrk/; 12 January [NS] 1729[2] – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish statesman and philosopher who spent most of his career in Great Britain. Born in Dublin, Burke served as a member of Parliament (MP) between 1766 and 1794 in the House of Commons of Great Britain with the Whig Party.
For other people named Edmund Burke, see Edmund Burke (disambiguation).
Edmund Burke
Isaac Barré
Verney Lovett
John Adams
9 July 1797 (aged 68)
Beaconsfield, England
Writer, politician, journalist, philosopher
Literary Club (co-founder)
Burke was a proponent of underpinning virtues with manners in society and of the importance of religious institutions for the moral stability and good of the state.[3] These views were expressed in his A Vindication of Natural Society (1756). He criticised the actions of the British government towards the American colonies, including its taxation policies. Burke also supported the rights of the colonists to resist metropolitan authority, although he opposed the attempt to achieve independence. He is remembered for his support for Catholic emancipation, the impeachment of Warren Hastings from the East India Company, and his staunch opposition to the French Revolution.
In his Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), Burke asserted that the revolution was destroying the fabric of "good" society and traditional institutions of state and society, and he condemned the persecution of the Catholic Church that resulted from it. This led to his becoming the leading figure within the conservative faction of the Whig Party which he dubbed the Old Whigs as opposed to the pro–French Revolution New Whigs led by Charles James Fox.[4]
In the 19th century, Burke was praised by both conservatives and liberals.[5] Subsequently, in the 20th century, he became widely regarded, especially in the United States, as the philosophical founder of conservatism,[6][7] along with his more conservative counterpart, Joseph de Maistre. [8] [9]
Opposition to the slave trade[edit]
Burke proposed a bill to ban slaveholders from being able to sit in the House of Commons, claiming they were a danger incompatible with traditional notions of British liberty.[72] While Burke did believe that Africans were "barbaric" and needed to be "civilised" by Christianity, Gregory Collins argues that this was not an unusual attitude amongst abolitionists at the time. Furthermore, Burke seemed to believe that Christianity would provide a civilising benefit to any group of people, as he believed Christianity had "tamed" European civilisation and regarded Southern European peoples as equally savage and barbarous. Collins also suggests that Burke viewed the "uncivilised" behaviour of African slaves as being partially caused by slavery itself, as he believed that making someone a slave stripped them of any virtues and rendered them mentally deficient, regardless of race. Burke proposed a gradual program of emancipation called Sketch of a Negro Code,[73] which Collins argues was quite detailed for the time. Collins concludes that Burke's "gradualist" position on the emancipation of slaves, while perhaps seeming ridiculous to some modern-day readers, was nonetheless sincere.[74]
Criticism[edit]
One of Burke's largest and most developed critics was the American political theorist Leo Strauss. In his book Natural Right and History, Strauss makes a series of points in which he somewhat harshly evaluates Burke's writings.
One of the topics that he first addresses is the fact that Burke creates a definitive separation between happiness and virtue and explains that "Burke, therefore, seeks the foundation of government 'in a conformity to our duties' and not in 'imaginary rights of man".[177][178] Strauss views Burke as believing that government should focus solely on the duties that a man should have in society as opposed to trying to address any additional needs or desires. Government is simply a practicality to Burke and not necessarily meant to function as a tool to help individuals live as well as possible. Strauss also argues that in a sense Burke's theory could be seen as opposing the very idea of forming such philosophies. Burke expresses the view that theory cannot adequately predict future occurrences and therefore men need to have instincts that cannot be practised or derived from ideology.[177][178]
This leads to an overarching criticism that Strauss holds regarding Burke which is his rejection of the use of logic. Burke dismisses a widely held view amongst theorists that reason should be the primary tool in the forming of a constitution or contract.[177][178] Burke instead believes that constitutions should be made based on natural processes as opposed to rational planning for the future. However, Strauss points out that criticising rationality actually works against Burke's original stance of returning to traditional ways because some amount of human reason is inherent and therefore is in part grounded in tradition.[177] In regards to this formation of legitimate social order, Strauss does not necessarily support Burke's opinion—that order cannot be established by individual wise people, but exclusively by a culmination of individuals with historical knowledge of past functions to use as a foundation.[177][178] Strauss notes that Burke would oppose more newly formed republics due to this thought,[177] although Lenzner adds the fact that he did seem to believe that America's constitution could be justified given the specific circumstances.[178] On the other hand, France's constitution was much too radical as it relied too heavily on enlightened reasoning as opposed to traditional methods and values.[177]
Disputed or misattributed quotation[edit]
"When good men do nothing"[edit]
The well-known maxim that "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" is widely attributed to Burke, despite the debated origin of the quotation.[182][183] It is known that, in 1770, Burke wrote the following passage in "Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents":
In 1867, John Stuart Mill made a similar statement in an inaugural address delivered at the University of St Andrews:
In popular media[edit]
Actor T. P. McKenna was cast as Edmund Burke in the TV series Longitude in 2000.[187]
