Edmund Burke
Classic Thinkers series
1. Auflage Mai 2024
224 Seiten, Softcover
Fachbuch
Kurzbeschreibung
Few thinkers have provoked such violently opposing reactions as Edmund Burke. A giant of eighteenth-century political and intellectual life, Burke has been praised as a prophet who spied the terror latent in revolutionary or democratic ideologies, and condemned as defender of social hierarchy and outmoded political institutions.
Ross Carroll tempers these judgments by situating Burke's arguments in relation to the political controversies of his day. Burke's writings must be understood as rhetorically brilliant exercises in political persuasion aimed less at defending abstract truths than at warning his contemporaries about the corrosive forces - ideological, social, and political - that threatened their society. Drawing on Burke's enormous corpus, Carroll presents a nuanced portrait of Burke as, above all, a diagnostician of political misrule, whether domestic, foreign, or imperial. Burke's lasting value, Carroll argues, derives less from the content of his specific positions than from the difficult questions he forces us to ask of ourselves.
This engaging and illuminating account of Burke's work is a vital reference for students and scholars of history, philosophy, and political thought.
Few thinkers have provoked such violently opposing reactions as Edmund Burke. A giant of eighteenth-century political and intellectual life, Burke has been praised as a prophet who spied the terror latent in revolutionary or democratic ideologies, and condemned as defender of social hierarchy and outmoded political institutions.
Ross Carroll tempers these judgments by situating Burke's arguments in relation to the political controversies of his day. Burke's writings must be understood as rhetorically brilliant exercises in political persuasion aimed less at defending abstract truths than at warning his contemporaries about the corrosive forces - ideological, social, and political - that threatened their society. Drawing on Burke's enormous corpus, Carroll presents a nuanced portrait of Burke as, above all, a diagnostician of political misrule, whether domestic, foreign, or imperial. Burke's lasting value, Carroll argues, derives less from the content of his specific positions than from the difficult questions he forces us to ask of ourselves.
This engaging and illuminating account of Burke's work is a vital reference for students and scholars of history, philosophy, and political thought.
Abbreviations
Introduction
1 The Foundations of Society
2 Representation and Political Association
3 Political Reform and Constitutional Change
4 Freedom and Revolution
5 Conquest and Colonisation
6 Corporate Tyranny and Imperial Responsibility
Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Richard Bourke, University of Cambridge
"Ross Carroll has written a nuanced and learned study of Burke's intellectual and political life, which is the best introduction to Burke's political theory and the starting point for any student interested in his politics."
Max Skjönsberg, The Hamilton Center for Classical and Civic Education, University of Florida
