Saturday, July 16, 2011

Questions re: "The Revolution in France," by Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke (1727 to 1797) was an English statesman, philosopher, and writer. He was a Whig member of Parliament for many years. In the year 1790, during the early stages of the French Revolution, he wrote an extended letter to a young Parisian acquaintance, Charles-Jean-François Depont, stating his views on the Revolution. Also intended as a rebuttal to London societies that had arisen in support of the Revolution, his "Reflections on the Revolution in France," was published in November of that year as an extended pamphlet. It was a golden age of the political pamphlet, and Tom Paine's "Rights of Man" was written as a rebuttal to Burke.

Interpretive Questions

What is a "manly, moral, regulated liberty" (p.1), and why does Burke tell us that he loves it "as well as any gentleman."

What are Burke's beliefs on meritocracy (i.e., that citizens achieve their rank through personal ability and accomplishment), and how does he react to some who came to the fore in the revolution (p. 18-19)?

On p. 18 Burke writes of hairdressers and tallow-chandlers, "Such descriptions of men ought not to suffer oppression from the state; but the state suffers oppression if such as they, either individually or collectively, are permitted to rule. In this you think you are combatting prejudice, but you are at war with nature." If Burke is against workers assuming positions of power, what would be his criteria for a suitable leader?

Why does Burke think the "principle of property" (p. 19-20) so important to the political system?

P. 20: "Some decent, regulated preeminence, some preference (not exclusive appropriation) given to birth is neither unnatural, nor unjust, nor impolitic." Do you think preference given to birth is (a) natural, (b) just, (c) politic, (d) all three?

P. 24: "What is the use of discussing a man's abstract right to food or medicine? The question is upon the method of procuring and administering them. In that deliberation I shall always advise to call in the aid of the farmer and the physician rather than the professor of metaphysics." Can there be any argument here?

What, according to Burke, caused the revolution (p. 28)?

Why does Burke say that in a government not headed by a hereditary monarch, "Men would become little better than the flies of summer." (p.32)

What is meant by Burke's use of the phrase, "the sense of mankind" (p. 36), and does it reflect on the role of philosophy in sorting out the many challenges inherent in human society? Given his earlier critique of placing reason over sentiment, is there a contradiction?

Burke at various points invokes a divine power (p. 38, "parental Guardian and Legislator", p. 30, "Master Author and Founder of society"). What role does this power play in his politics?

Why at the end of the piece does he take a dig at people who are too busy finding fault with things to try to make them better?

Based on what you know of French history, could the French truly have sustained themselves on memories of more glorious past rulers than Louis XVI and refrained from revolution?


Evaluative Questions

P. 17: "Believe me sir, those who attempt to level, never equalize." Do you agree?

Is Burke's discussion of civil society, (p. 23, "Men cannot enjoy the rights of an uncivil and of a civil state together. That he may obtain justice, he gives up his right of determining what it is in points the most essential to him. That he may secure some liberty, he makes a surrender in trust of the whole of it," etc.) a good assessment of civil society's the costs and benefits?

Is Burke's essay, in its explicit critique of the events in France. an implicit defense of the English system? Is the piece really more about England than about France?

Is this a great book or an important book? Is it both?


Passages to Discuss

Pages 3 to 5, beginning, "You will observe that from Magna Carta ... to "...for the great conservatories and magazines of our rights and privileges."

Pages 13 to 16, beginning, "Judge, Sir, of my surprise ... " to "the natural landed interest of the country."

Pages 17 to 19, beginning, "Believe me, sir, those who attempt to level ..." to "by some difficulty and some struggle."

Pages 28 to 30, beginning, "History will record that on the morning..." to "with fervent prayer and enthusiastic ejaculation."

Pages 34 to 35, beginning, "Society is indeed a contract" to "madness, discord, vice, confusion, and unraveling sorrow."