Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Edmund Burke, Father of Conservatism, Sorely Missed

Something interesting from the Economist: Freedom Fighter: The Early Thinking of Edmund Burke

I've said for a long time that Conservatism from its roots was a liberal ideology, one of gradual reform rather than violent revolution. The modern concept is an appropriation by reactionaries who wish to hold back progress, rather than found it on stable social evolution.

Personally I tend to lean more towards Paine than Burke, but we on the left need an intelligent and principled opposition, which sadly we just don't get. No ideology can police itself adequately, and no dialectic can occur in an echo chamber.

We desperately need a new Edmund Burke. Sadly, I don't see anyone poised to assume the mantle. Like it or not, we're stuck with these guys:


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