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“A Digest on Edmund Burke and his Reflections on the Revolution in France”

Submitted by:

Omega, Rexmond 09612528270

Submitted to:

Gary B. Lapiz, BA Pos, BPA, MPA, DPA

A Digest on Edmund Burke and his Reflections on the Revolution in France

Edmund Burke

The Right Honourable Edmund Burke (January 12, 1729- July 9, 1797) was

an Anglo-Irish statesman and philosopher. Born on Dublin, Ireland, Burke served as

a Member of Parliament between 1766 and 1794 in the House of Commons with

Whig Party after moving to London in 1750.

Burke started his philosophical works in 1752, when he wrote his first book

A Vindication of Natural Society. In his work he used absurdism to argue against

atheistic rationalism. His book gained a serious appreciation among critics which

led him to publish the second edition in 1757 that reveals the satiristic nature of his

first book. Burke was regarded as a talented writer by most critics. He displayed his

philosophic prowess when he published his second book at the age of 18. The book

entitled A Philosophical enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and

Beautiful. The book attracted the attention of other thinkers of his era like Immanuel

Kant (1724-1804) and Denis Diderot (1713-1784). The book was a treatise on

Aesthetics and when he was asked about expanding his treatise on aesthetics in his

later years, he never agreed because he was too old to further expand the

abstraction he written in his younger years. Throughout his political career he will

be highly respected statesman and philosopher. Often many people will seek advices

from him about the social issues and trends around Europe. In 1790, he would

publish a book from a letter and it will be famously known as Reflections on the

Revolution in France. After his death, his speeches and letters that contain his ideas

about the affairs of state and further thoughts on the Revolutions of France were

compiled into a book [ CITATION Cla01 \l 1033 ].

Burke started his political career when he worked as a private secretary to the

Lord Rockingham. This led to winning his first seat in the House of Commons in
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1766. As a secretary to Lord Rockingham, he joined the Rockingham faction of the

Whig Party. His membership with the Whig Party would take part in his defense of

Glorious Revolution in his book Reflections on the Revolution in France as the Whig

Party played a major role in the Glorious Revolution [ CITATION Gro95 \l 1033 ].

During his term as a Member of Parliament, he defended the rights of

American colonists and supported the American Revolution. This would disprove

the stipulations that Burke hated revolutions. He also denounced the religious

persecutions of Roman Catholics in his native country, Ireland. Despite being

Anglican, he will be subjected of propagandas of him supporting the Catholics. Burke

will be remembered through his role in the impeachment of British Governor of

India, Warren Hastings (1732-1818).

His career ended on 1794. He was about to build a political dynasty on the

persona of his son, Richard but he died months later. He was greatly devastated and

his illness became worst. He eventually died on July 9, 1797 in Beaconsfield,

Buckingham.

Burke started the idea of underpinning virtues with mannerism society and

the importance of religious institutions for moral stability, social unity and good for

the state. He was highly regarded as the "Father of Modern Conservatism" and

recognized as a liberal conservative of most historians. In the words of Martin Wight

(1996), Burke was the "only philosopher who turned wholly from political theory to

international politics".
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Reflections on the Revolution in France

The Reflections on the Revolution in France was a political pamphlet written

by Edmund Burke and published in November 1790. It is a defining tract of modern

conservatism that focus on the preservation of tradition, morality and institutions

like the church as the source of order in a state.

Background

At first, Burke did not condemn the French Revolution though France was a

bitter nemesis of Great Britain. In fact he even praised struggle for liberty in France

after the Fall of Bastille. But the events of October 5-6, 1789 which became known

by the history as "Women's March to Versailles" changed his stance about the

revolution. The march started as a demonstration regarding inflation and scarcity of

bread in Paris. It resulted to mobbing of the Royal Palace in Versailles and return of

the King and his delegates to the nation's capital Paris. Burke saw the degradation of

order and became skeptical with the revolution and he would be engaging in

debates regarding his stance against the revolt.

A young aristocrat from France named Charles Jean-François Depont wrote

to Burke about his support to the revolt. Burke replied in denial of his support.

Months later in January 1790, Burke read the sermon of Dr. Richard Price's sermon

to the Revolution Society entitled A Discourse on the Love of Our Country to the

Revolution Society. The sermon talks about Price's thoughts concerning Human

Rights and comparison of Glorious Revolution and French Revolution. After reading,

he wrote the draft of what would become as The Reflections on the Revolution in

France and it was published in November 1, 1790. The book would become a best

seller and will be reproduce of thousands of copies not only in Great Britain but also
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in France, where the monarch Louis XVI would order the mass production to be

distributed in his kingdom.Centuries later, the book would become a classic. It

builds the basic foundations of Conservatism and Burke will be regarded as the

"Father of Modern Conservatism".

In contrast of Glorious Revolution and French Revolution

In November 1688, the English Elites particularly from the Whig Party who

supported the constitutional monarchy secretly invited the daughter of Stuart king,

Mary II and her husband William III of Orange to restore the Protestant line of

succession on the British throne. The monarch, James II had a power strain over the

Parliament and the Anglican Church when the king converted himself to Roman

Catholicism. He suspended the English and Scottish Parliaments, prosecuted the

bishops of Anglican Church, and repeal the laws regarding suppression of Catholics

in a Protestant country. Fearing of the comeback of British Civil Wars and a absolute

monarchy after the Catholic king produced a male heir to the throne, the members

of the elite decided to remove the king of the throne and installed a protestant

regime. This event was called the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and it aimed to the

restoration of the Protestant line and the power of Parliament over the crown.

On the speech made by Dr. Richard Price to the Revolution Society, Price

used the Glorious Revolution as a manifestation of natural rights innate within man

and the relationship of the sovereign (king) and the people as subjects. As a Whig,

Burke made a classic Whiggish defence against the misinterpretation of the Glorious

Revolution. Burke made a distinction between the events of Glorious Revolution and

the French Revolution stating that the revolution was indeed a necessary move in

order to prevent the comeback of civil war between the Protestants and a Catholic

monarch.
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"These gentlemen of the Old Jewry, in all of their reasoning on the Revolution

of 1688, have a revolution which happened in England about forty years before, and

the late French Revolution, so much before their eyes, and in their hearts, that they

are constantly confounding all the three together. It is necessary that we should

separate what they confound....  They followed the principles which prevailed in the

Declaration of Right; indicating with more precision the persons who were to

inherit the Protestant line. This act also incorporated by the same policy, our

liberties, and a hereditary succession in the same act. Instead of a right to choose

our governors, they declared that the succession in that line (in the protestant line

drawn from James the 1st) was an absolute necessary 'for the peace, quiet and

security of the realm', and equally urgent on them 'to maintain a certainty in the

succession thereof,...“(Burke, 1790, pp. 20-22)

The restoration of Protestant throne does not only protect the supremacy of

Parliament over the crown, but also the fulfillment of divine right theory. It also

protected the tradition of British monarchy. As his argument against Price, Burke

pointed out about the nature of the restoration as not much like the election that the

French National Assembly had. He argued that it is also part of the preservation of

the tradition of succession of the crown and too far from total removal of the

monarch and elections happened in France which led to the terroristic purge to the

loyalists (Reign of Terror) which even the National Assembly cannot even control.
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The Political Thought of Burke in Reflections

Although Burke's main theme in the Reflections seems to be in negation of Dr.

Price's sermon to the Revolution Society. Burke exhibited his wisdom and thoughts

regarding the revolution. It is clear in his book about his disbelief of theoretical

dogmas and did a comparative analysis with the two countries. Hoffman and

Graham (2015) reflected that "the main thrust of Burke's Reflections is to contrast a

society -France- which has abandoned prejudice (intuition) in favour of 'theory',

within a society -Britain- which has remained close to its traditions, to which it is

prejudiced". For Burke, dealing with abstractions like human rights and liberty is

dangerous and it may lead to chaos.

Throughout his book Burke spent his thoughts dissing the pulpit of Old Jewry,

he also included the importance of wisdom. Burke believes that the wisdom of the

past is necessary to avoid unforeseen consequences. By the traditions, prejudice

(intuition) and private property is properly preserved along wisdom, the nation

would be in an order. As Burke (1790) wrote in Reflections:

“A state without the means of some change is without the means of its

conservation. Without such means might even risk the loss of that part of

constitution which it wished the most religiously to preserve”.

But preserving traditions does not mean to be stagnant with it. In order for it to

survive in a modern world, Burke believes in performing a double act, accept some

features of modernity while at the same time seeking to restrain or contain them

(Schwarzmantel, 2008). This also agreed with Burke's belief of constitutional

reformation over revolution. His disbelief with a dogma founded on the abstract

thoughts of liberty and rights of man often results as an excuse for abuse [ CITATION
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Hof15 \l 1033 ].

Burke also advocates of market relations and emphasized wise leadership of

traditional elite, in other terms the 'aristocratic rule', to have an ordered hierarchy

and to know one's role in society. Burke believes that the elite played a huge key

role in combining theoretical and practical approaches of acceptance of political

forms of mass democracy through the emphasis of wise leadership from them.

According to Schwarzmantel (2008), it aims to develop a degree of social solidarity

through appeals to tradition, the weight of history, and the leadership skills of those

who knew better, trained in the arts of political friendship.

The period of revolution in France also saw the degradation of religion. With

the removal of the established religion in France, the Jacobins led by Maximillian

Robespierre established a cult named The Cult of Supreme Being which is intended

to replace the Roman Catholicism as the state and civic religion in France. It was

convened by the National Assembly as part of de-Christianization of France. Burke

saw this as party of absurdity of human mind. He argued that by constitution a man

is a religious animal and atheism is against to the instinct (Curtis, 1981). The role of

religion to the state as bulwark of virtues, preservation of wisdom and ethics is very

important. According to Burke (1790):

“The consecration of the state, by a state religious establishment is necessary

also to operate with a wholesome awe upon free citizens; because in order to secure

their freedom, they must enjoy some determinate portion of power.”

Burke mentioned about the weak status of National Assembly as a

revolutionary government. According to him, it is composed of opposite elements of

liberty and he doubts in maintaining the same way as it will be full of mutinous
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elements. Burke mentioned about a popular leader who would take advantage of the

weak state of the Assembly and rise up to establish his powers. Burke's expectations

on the fate of the National Assembly would eventually be true as the visionary

Napoleon Bonaparte would rise up and seize the government. This move by

Napoleon would end up the chaotic government of the Directoire and finally ending

up the revolution.

Contribution to Politics

The French Revolution left a significant contribution to the history and to the

political ideas. The revolt would give birth to the revolutionary ideas of liberty and

its counterpart, the conservatism. Although Edmund Burke would earn criticisms on

his aristocratic approach of negation to the rights of man, his thoughts would earn

praises around the world. From the words of International Relations historian

Tobjö rn (1992), Burke "laid the foundations" of the "conservative approach to the

International Relations by the two modern notions of state interest and necessity".

Hoffman and Graham (2015) stated that although Burke's conservatism is liberal

conservatism by most historians, Burke's conservatism is not a reactionary but

progressive in his time. It is true, however, as Whig faction in which Burke was part

of, believes in liberalistic approach to constitutional monarchy. But soon after, the

faction would broke into two sub factions; the Old Whigs led by Burke and the New

Whigs which is led by Charles James Fox.

The publication of Reflections on the Revolution would draw responses for

those who supported the revolution and the natural rights of man. Mary

Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) published A Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790),

and followed by Thomas Paine (1737-1809) with his Rights of Man (1791). Both

criticized Burke for his belief of hereditary rights and aristocratic perspective to the
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revolution. This will further expand the long dialectical arguments regarding the

preservation of the traditional elements and acceptance of modern thoughts.

Edmund Burke started the conservation approach of established tradition,

institutions, preservation of wisdom, fiscal management and constriction to

modernity and abstract thoughts. The genius of Burke offers us a fair warning from

a tragic revolt against the establishment, belief of unfeasible ideas and the

importance of pre-judgement on the basis of wisdom .

REFERENCES

Books

Burke, E. (1790). Reflections on the Revolution in France (PDF). London, UK: James
Dodsley.

Clark, J. (2001). Reflections on the Revolution in France. A Crtitical Edition (PDF).

Stanford University Press.

Curtis, M. (2008). The Great Political Theories Volume II. New York, N.Y.:
Harperperennial Modern Classics .

Groiler Encyclopedia of Knowledge. (1995). USA: Groiler Incorporated.

Hoffman, J. a. (2015). Introduction to Political Theory. Oxon and New York.

Schwarzmantel, J. (2008). Ideology and Politics. London.

Journal and Internet Sources

Armitage, D. (2000). Edmund Burke and the Reason of State. Journal of the History of
Ideas , 617-634
Bourke, R. (2017,July 27). Conservatism of Edmund Burke -Richard Bourke [Video
File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_PM438D7p0
Harris, Ian, "Edmund Burke", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2012
Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL =
<https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2012/entries/burke/>.
Wight, Martin. (1996). Why is There No International Theory. Diplomatic
Investigations: Essays in the Theory of International Politics .