Edmund Burke's Objections to Revolution

As a member of the House of Parliament, and heir to the traditions of English Common Law, Edmund Burke (1729-1793) may have seen the French Revolution as an alien and indifferent political force moving his times, disrupting what he knew to be a sure and comforting way of life. It is not odd that the language used in Reflections on the Revolution in France is full of pleas for sane behavior and references to English Parliamentary procedure, being connected to ancient and correct institutions. This paper shall illustrate Edmund Burke's objections to the French Revolution, and hence the limitations of all revolution that is not somehow linked with traditional rule (Beatty & Johnson, 1995).

Edmund Burke was not heartless about the situation of the French people. In fact, in Reflections he defines the point at which a change in government, not revolution, would be allowed:

The Speculative line of demarcation, where obedience might end, and resistance might begin, is faint, obscure, and not easily definable. It is not a single event, which determines it. Governments must be abused and deranged indeed, before it can be thought of; and the prospect of the future must be as bad as the experience of the past. (Burke, 1790. p. 133)

Speaking from his perspective, Burke was defending the social order that he was a part of. The reasoning used by the revolutionaries, the principals of enlightenment, ran contrar

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ion. (Burke, 1790. p 132) Edmund Burke and the French Revolutionaries seem to be talking about accomplishing the same thing, a representative form of government. Burke seems sure that the methods used by the revolutionaries will lead to the end of civilized behavior in France. In Burkes' England, the rule of law was absolute. By using words like compromise and temperaments, it seems as if Burke feels that the possibility of having and maintaining a difference of opinion in regard to the rule or origin of law is uncivilized. However, it is possible that the revolutionaries were equally sure that the monarchy of France would never allow a fair change to take place. Burke cites many examples of how a working system (in his mind) has been thoughtlessly thrown away as if it were garbage: Compute your gains: see what is got by those extravagant and presumptuous speculations. . . By following false lights, France has brought undisguised calamities at a higher price than any nation has purchased the most unequivocal blessings!. . . They have found their punishment in their success. Laws overturned tribunals subverted; industry without vigor; commerce expiring; the revenue unpaid, yet the people impoverished. . . everything

Category: History - E