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The french revolution free essay
Essay on french revolution of freedom and equality
Edmund burke and his views on the french revolution
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The Conservative Mind by Russell Kirk is a book about the criticism and opinion of the conservative thought. Although in the passage he mentions several men like Tocqueville, Hooker, Hegel, and Burke he furthermore appears to leave out countless of other men. Kirk believes that Edmund Burke is the greatest of modern conservative thinkers, he was not afraid to acknowledge what he thought was right, and to go to a further extent he thinks Burke is the founder of our conservatism. Tocqueville is one of the few men who was actually given satisfying props and recognition. The main reason for this was due to the fact that his lasting impact towards the Englishmen and Americans.
John Locke an English writer states that “ As guards and fences to the properties of all the members of the society, to limit the power and moderate the domination, of every part and member of the society.” (Doc.5) ‘Society’- The general public must endeavor to fight for a say in court for the laws that are being created and used against for them. Through people like Locke, it created an equality in the government, which now involved the voices of the lower class(Mkay). Voltaire, French writer and most famously known for “ I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” , (Doc 6.)Writes the letters on the English, which highlight the importance of a well-governed government, one of which involves the help of all, not just nobles.
Edward Burke’s response to the French Revolution was a collection of thoughts that were written without any formal formatting. It is an influential writing that is in many ways still applicable to today’s society. There are many things that influenced Burke’s response to the French Revolution including his time as a Whig politician in which he was very involved in England’s political system. His views on American independence, religious tolerance for the people of Ireland, and theories on the social order, economic theory, and political principles are all factors that led to Burke’s response to Charles-Jean-François Depont with his second letter. Burke had three major trains of thought that made up his response to the Revolution.
The conservative Burke who thought that human beings were not perfectible contrasted significantly with the progressive Condorcet who thought the opposite. Burke was raised in a family with a strong religious background where he and his mother were close in relationship. This led to his compassion towards the Irish Catholics who had limited human rights at that time. He advocated
Those who were considered as general leaders of the Enlightenment years were thought to be very intellectual and were held by most people in the highest regard throughout the colonial society. Some of the more common names spoken back then were of men such as “John Locke, Voltaire, Adam Smith, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison” (Sage, 2013, para. 3). Jean-Jacques Rousseau was another prominent thinker as well. He believed that all “individuals had natural rights to life, liberty, and property, which even a king or pope could not deny” (Schultz, 2010, p. 69). Rousseau, along with countless others fought for the rights of the people while insisting that each person is afforded the lawful right to live their own life and to cast aside the authoritativeness of others if they saw fit in doing
Rousseau, one of the most leading philosophers during the Enlightenment, had indeed left many of legendries behind. Not only his writings had caused many of the reactions at that time, but also influenced many writers’ aspects of the French Revolution and the overall understanding of inequality and the General Will. As one of the chief political theorists during the French Revolution who was also influenced by Rousseau’s ideas, Abbe Sieyes, published the pamphlet, “What is the Third Estate?” in 1789. This pamphlet was one of the documents that changed the world and lit the flame toward the French Revolution, as characterized by Joe Janes, a University of Washington professor (Janes).
As far as Burk was concerned, the French Revolution turned into a disruptive, radical revolt that leads to a disastrous break from what could have been a slow fruitful endeavor. His attitude towards the revolution viewed the changes in France as radical and too ambitious for the revolutionaries. The changes the opposition's wanted to ensue, would have been too much to keep sustained and this would have allowed policies to be enacted that would have been otherwise better kept suppressed. In Burkes view the revolution came up too quickly, causing the revolutionaries appear disorganized and lacking leadership. His argument was that French Revolution was not based on any rational principle and to some extent their struggle would lead them to
The 1700’s was an age filled with revolutionary thinking considered groundbreaking and preposterous at the time. The entire century itself was filled to the brim with new ideas and thoughts being expressed to the public through literary pieces still widely praised today, one of the most well known of these being Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. You may ask, “How can an entire century or society already busy with the settling of the New World and the eventual Revolution, contain such pieces of literature, and the ideas that were written within them?” The answer, the ideas and thoughts that society today calls ‘revolutionary’ weren’t originally accepted, but rejected. The changes suggested by these writings, changes that would later occur, were not
He writes with a formal tone in order to seem more analytical to the reader, and begins his essay with a thesis that states what it means “to be conservative”. Burke’s writing is slightly less formal, and is written in the form of a letter to the reader, making him seem more relatable. The informal tone of his essay helps create the perception that he is like the “common man”, therefore his political beliefs would be better suited for the public. Though they are from two very different time periods, both authors have very similar political beliefs and effectively express the fundamentals of conservative thinking.
Human beings are not equal, so hierarchy is natural and essentially to burke a positive consequence from inequality. Additionally, he alleged that a social contract is one that the people of a given society have with their past. Thus, Burke responded to inequality by stating only some people should participate in politics, while others who were adamant for universal suffrage, should not. This belief stemmed from the understanding that only citizens who could set aside time to contribute in politics could. He felt this would eliminate all of the lower working classes, as it was assumed that the upper class were invited for political debate.
Edmund Burke’s speech on India gave a detailed
While both men come from different sides of the political spectrum—Edmund Burke is from the conservative right and Karl Marx is from the liberal/socialist left—they both disagree with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen in their writing. As a conservative, Burke claims, “the very idea of the fabrication of a new government is enough to fill us with disgust and horror.” From there, one can comprehend Burke’s main argument and his love of tradition, which ultimately explains why he is against the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen and the French Revolution. Burke does not believe in replacing an institution that has existed for decades. Instead of having a revolution and tearing down the principles that guide society, Burke would argue for gradual reform.
Before commenting on Locke and Rousseau’s policies, one must examine their basis for property, inequality, and
In his book, ‘The reflection on the French Revolution’, Burke asserts his view on universal law very clearly. Burke believed that laws and rights were inherited and not universal. This is One of the biggest reasons he supported the American Revolution and not the French revolution. He believed that the American’s rights were by birth the British rights they inherited and even though they chose to immigrate, the British army was impeding their rights. The French, he argues, were disgracing the constitution and monarchy they had inherited.
The French Revolution was undoubtedly influenced by the political theorists of the Enlightenment. The ideas of two French political theorists in particular are easily seen throughout the French Revolution, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Baron Montesquieu. Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s thoughts and texts, such as the Social Contract, instilled the entitlement of basic human rights to all men. Rousseau’s concepts on rights combined with Baron Montesquieu’s ideas on government provided the backbone of a radical movement in the French Revolution known as the Terror. When one delves into the beginnings of the French Revolution, the motives and actions of the National Assembly, and the Terror of the French Revolution, one can obviously see the influence of two Enlightenment political theorists, Rousseau and Montesquieu.
