Edmund Burke - Philosophy and Government
Edmund Burke (1729-97)
Irish-born British Member of Parliament (pictured right).
His views on government
- have been very influential in both Britain and America.
- laid the foundations of the modern Conservative Party in Britain.
His most famous book
is...
Reflection on the Revolution in France (1790) which attacked the French Revolution.
What did he believe in?
1. Individual liberty
He strongly:
- defended people’s rights.
- attacked tyrannical government (“Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny”, he
said)
- supported the freedom of Americans against British rule.
“The greater the power, the more dangerous is the abuse”, he said.
2. Government by consent
The purpose of government is “to provide for human wants”,
People must be persuaded that something is right.
You can’t force them to do things, because force:
- is only effective temporarily.
- causes hostility and the need for continual oppression.
“A nation is not governed which is perpetually to be conquered”, he said.
So it is vital for politicians to have people’s trust and consent by
not abusing their power.
3. Representative government
His speech in 1774 to his electors in Bristol stated that an MP is a representative not a delegate.
He (or she) should make up his (or her) own mind on policy.
“He is not a member of Bristol, but he is a Member of Parliament”, he said.
4. Evolutionary not revolutionary change
A country and its people must adapt and respond to ever
changing circumstances
“A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation”, Burke said
But he supported:
- order and caution - change in an orderly manner.
- continuity - keeping the good of the past (like the monarchy and Parliament).
This is why he
- attacked the French Revolution.
- believed “compromise and barter” are the foundations of good government.
5. Pragmatic realism
Countries can’t be perfectly equal, loving, or free, because of people’s:
- different abilities and ambitions.
So:
- ideals must always take into account what can be realistically achieved
- government must be based on a practical understanding of people not political
ideology.
6. Power to privilege
The best people to govern are those with the most experience of governing (i.e. the
monarchy and aristocracy with inherited wealth).
7. Goodness and wisdom
People must co-operate to:
- fight for “humanity, reason and justice”.
The greatest evil is:
“liberty without wisdom and without virtue”.
The most important of all revolutions is:
“a revolution in sentiments, manners and moral opinions”.
Inscribed on his statue in Bristol, England are his words:
“I wish to be a Member of Parliament to have my share of doing good and resisting evil”.
8. Toleration
Democracy is based on accepting other people’s views.
Key quotes on politics and government
I wish to be a Member of Parliament to have my share of doing good and resisting
evil (inscribed on his statue in Bristol, England).
Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants.
A nation is not governed, which is to be perpetually to be conquered.
Key quote on ethics
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Key quote on freedom
The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.
Key quote on business ethics
When bad men combine, the good must associate.
Key quote on education
Education is the cheap defence of nations.
Key quote on strategy
You can never plan the future by the past.
Key quote on learning
Facts are to the mind what food is to the body.
Key quote on society
To make us love our country, our country ought to be lovely
Key quote on the past, present and future
Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.
Key quotes on God and religion
Nothing is so fatal to religion as indifference.
Superstition is the religion of feeble minds.
Key quote on negotiating
The concessions of the weak are the concessions of fear.
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