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Who is Edmund Burke?
Edmund Burke (/ˈbɜːrk/; 12 January [NS] 1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish statesman, economist, and philosopher. 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.
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. These views were expressed in his A Vindication of Natural Society. 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, Burke asserted that the revolution was destroying the fabric of good society and traditional institutions of state and society and 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.
In the 19th century, Burke was praised by both conservatives and liberals. Subsequently, in the 20th century, he became widely regarded, especially in the United States, as the philosophical founder of conservatism.
Sorry to be silly (but not sorry enough not to do it) but this makes me think of the Transformers, the only way to stop Devastator is with another comibiner. It never seemed worked out well for the autobots though.
It made me think of “The Magnificent Seven.”
Transformers references are welcome on this site. I’ve had an Optimus Prime quote decorating the footer of my main page since 2020. Despite that, good guys combining always makes me think of Voltron. I guess a younger person might go with Power Rangers, but I missed that one by a few years.
It’s a good one
I think one of his most important observations is that if political reform outpaces cultural reform too quickly, it causes backlash. That’s why representation of minorities in media is important; it helps with the cultural reform which gives political reform a stronger foundation. Burke believed a culture should be run by elites, but those elites should listen to protests from the general population, because lower classes feel the effects of many government policies before the elites do.
I think the less homogenous a culture becomes, the more difficult that task becomes. But it’s necessary. Law and culture need to evolve in pace with each other. The U.S. is struggling currently in part because our elites are too insulated from the concerns of the lower classes. If you’re highly insulated for multiple generations, you end up with an unresponsive and uncaring government. That also necessitates that the problem needs to become exceedingly grave to touch those setting policy and bring about change.
Which then brings us to “Collapse” by Jared Diamond, in which he argues that the elites of a society don’t really care about a problem until it affects them. Until they, they let it stew and grow and sometimes until it is too late. I’ve seen evidence of this all the time on TV news, when suddenly people notice a problem I’ve known about for years because suddenly it affected them.
Great quote
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it.