Posted by Susan on May 27, 19101 at 13:11:12:
In Reply to: Edmund Burke posted by Judy on March 06, 19101 at 13:41:17:
: In Adult Great Books we'r reading Reflections on the Revolution in France. He favors the American Revolution while deploring the French Revolution. Any thoughts? Also, I'm looking for some thoughtful questions to lead a discussion on this topic. Many thanks. Judy
>>Burke was against all revolutions. He was originally in favor of the American colonials receiving the representation and other rights or priveledges that they asked for, but was strictly against bloody revolution. He was a conservative -- not in the American way of thinking, but as opposed to clic liberalism such as JS Mill and Locke, he believed that man was mostly irrational and could not devise the "blueprints for a perfect government for all nations," rather he believed that each particular cirstance should be looked at individually and that since all sorts of unintended consequences would rammify from any action, that policy and political action should be taken very seriously and not challenge the knowledge of tradition and custom. For he believed that only through the many generations of time in a nation, can one see that which works for that nation and believed in incrementatlism, the idea of not taking radical steps but instead small well-thought out steps by the natural aristocracy. These natural-born leaders, should be the representatives in the government and should be independent from the sway of their constituency, solely deliberating on the moral, virtuous and right actions to take for each situation.
His "vindication" was written in direct argument with the social contract thinkers of the Englisha dn French Enlightenment thinkers, but especially Rousseau, who he blamed for the awful and bloody French Revolution.