Edmund Burke

For this blog, I am going to focus on Edmund Burke whom we read about in “Perspectives: The Rights of Man and the Revolution Controversy.” Edmund Burke is known for his opposition of the French Revolution and strong support for a monarchy. He saw the revolution as a rebellion against tradition and what he thought of as proper authority. Burke believed that the best way to repair a nation and constitution was to look to their forefathers and rebuild on their old foundations. He uses England as an example pointing out that England has followed the old common laws of Europe and has become one of the most powerful nations.

In Reflections on the Revolution in France, Burke stresses the importance of inheritance to the reader. He states on pg. 49, “It has been the uniform policy of our constitution to claim and assert our liberties, as an entailed inheritance derived to us from our forefathers, and to be transmitted to our posterity.” He also mentions the crown as being an “inheritable crown,” and compares it to any other inheritance a father might pass down to a child. Burke uses familiar ideas such as a father’s inheritance for his child and applies them to his ideas about the revolution to get people to be able to relate to him. Burke stresses that tradition should be followed and a king has the right to pass down the crown to his son as any other father has the right to pass down something which has belonged to his family. Burke is very good at convincing the reader of his ideas with this method of familiarity. Burke also believes that the foundations and policies set by the founders are the country’s inheritance. Also on pg. 49 he says that “the institutions of policy, the goods of fortune, the gifts of providence, are handed down to us, and from us, in the same course and order.” Just as the people before them have handed down their policies and government, it is the duty of the people to hand them down to the next generation.

Edmund Burke also speaks of the “Rights of Men” in Reflections on pg 50 and 51. I believe that here his ideas are not so far from some of our own even though many of us disagreed with many of his opinions. Burke believes that men “have a right to the fruits of their industry; and to the means of making their industry fruitful.” He states that, “Whatever each man can separately do, without trespassing upon others, he has a right to do for himself.” Burke emphasizes the right of man to his own property and to what he has earned. He is also against redistributing the wealth so that everyone is more equal. People have earned their wealth so it is their right to keep it. I agree with what he is saying here to an extent and that people who have earned their wealth and property have a right to keep that. Burke notes that, “In this partnership all men have equal rights; but not to equal things.” I do not agree with Burke’s stance on the power and authority of the government however. He speaks of his stance stating, “and as to the share of power, authority, and direction which each individual ought to have in the management of the state, that I must deny to be amongst the direct original rights of man in civil society.” It is evident that Burke is against government and the right of the individual having a say in what goes on in the state and how it is governed. According to Burke, it is not among the original rights of man.

I enjoyed reading Edmund Burke even though I did not agree with what he said. He made very convincing and interesting arguments in his writing and it was good to get the other side of someone against the revolution. His thoughts that the revolution was not a good thing could not have even been that far fetched since eventually Napoleon took over France and France returned to just one ruling all. I’m glad that we read Burke’s argument as well as Mary Wollstonecraft’s and Paine’s to read arguments both for and against the revolution. This helped us to better see the whole picture of the revolution as a class and have a rather successful discussion about it!