Notes on Edmund Burke – Part 7
Societal order comes from a reverence for a higher power. It keeps the Radical's ambitions in check and society from descending into anarchy.
Notes on Edmund Burke – Part 6
Wise societies recognize that there are people naturally born to lead. Elevating those natural leaders, rather than suppressing them, will enable a society to thrive and flourish. Those leaders must work to elevate the State rather than themselves in turn.
Notes on Edmund Burke – Part 5
Man has sought to define their Rights - Burke provides a road map for what is and is not a Right and the purpose of civil society and governments.
Notes on Edmund Burke – Part 4
Edmund Burke's main accomplishment is teaching men how to soften the blow of change and avoid outright rebellion. Prejudice, Prescription, and Presumption help guide the conservative in their quest to improve mankind.
Notes on Edmund Burke – Part 3
Burke believed that the State was a reflection of the moral state of the people and that God gave us the ability to His mind and will through man's years of learning and thinking.
Notes on Edmund Burke – Part 2
Throughout his years, Edmund Burke generated a prolific library of writings that are foundational to Conservative thinking and kept England on course away from Revolution.
Notes on Edmund Burke – Part 1
Burke's words established British conservatism in the face of sweeping revolutions in France and United States and was a model for statesman in those countries.
The Idea of Conservatism
Conservatives seek to conserve the traditions and ideas man has learned to be good through the centuries. Radicals seek change for change's sake.
Conservatism Adrift
The ideas of Babbitt, More, and Santayana had small circles of following but didn’t capture the general public’s attention. The nation greatly changed in character and temperance from WW1 to WW2 and conservatism was adrift.
Notes on George Santayana
George Santayana had a rich depth of conservative ideas that identified and fought against the materialism of the modern world.