In what sense is Burke the founder of modern British Conservative thought?

In What Sense is Burke the founder of Modern British Conservative Thought?

Edmund Burke, the passionate defender of the “ancient principles”, is considered by all accounts the founder of modern British political conservatism; and generations of ‘conservative’ thinkers have centred their political thesis on his philosophical and practical wisdom. Although Burke never produced anything that may be regarded as a systematic political treatise, he governed his life though a consistent political creed. Political thinkers have drawn from Burke’s creed and have grouped a set of ideologies that form the foundations of modern day conservatism. It can therefore be stated that Burke gave birth to such ideologies. However, it is important that here an understanding of an ideology is noted; as conservatism is unwilling to be subscribed to fixed notions, but instead evolves to the current political climate based on past experiences. Conservatism is a ‘common – sensical’ philosophy, “a Natural disposition of mind” which rejects the idea that human beings can be perfected. Modern Conservative thought subscribes to substantive views regarding the nature of society, the role of reason in human affairs, the proper tasks of government and to a certain extent the nature of moral and legal rules; and in this essence cam be considered an ideology. This essay proposes that Burkes political creed is in all essential respects the doctrines articulated in modern British conservative thought.

The major brunt of Burkes writings consists of speeches and political tracts written for some particular occasion. He was not a systematic theorist in the sense of contemporaries like Hobbes and Locke. Nevertheless, Burke wrote the most coherent articulation of conservative philosophy in his reflections of the French revolution. In it, he attacked the principles of the rights of man and natural law as being dangerous to the status quo - to the social order present in Europe. He asserted that effective constitutions could not be written down from first principles, but needed to evolve, slowly and cautiously in the light of experience. He schooled the ideas of modern conservatism; to fear “revolution in the name of Reform” and that there is a possibility of slow political change over time.

Modern Conservatism can be divided into two factions; the absolutism of Joseph de Maistre’s reactionary conservatism and Burke’s evolutionism. Reactionaries consider that “First Servant of the Crown should be the Executioner” they seek to restore a vanished past of politics and religion; whereas evolutionists argue against radical change, not against all change. Rather than consider individual stances such as One Nation or the Middle Way, where Burkes influence varies, the following will instead focus on the Five core values of Conservatism; authority, traditional hierarchy, human imperfection, property and organic society.