Edmund Burke (1729-1797), widely considered the father of conservatism, was a brilliant British statesman who served as a Member of Parliament from 1766-1794. Burke wrote widely on politics, providing penetrating defenses of the political party system and representation; however, Burke is best remembered for his stirring defense of the British constitution and its ancient traditions and his blistering condemnation of the French Revolution near the end of his life.
In this video, Dr. Ian Crowe, an Associate Professor of History at Belmont Abbey College, provides an overview of Burke’s thought at the 2023 Ciceronian Society Conference.
Preferred Editions:
The Portable Edmund Burke (New York: Penguin, 1999).
Edmund Burke, Select Works of Edmund Burke, 4 volumes, ed. Francis Canavan (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1999). His most famous work, Reflections on the Revolution in France, is in Volume II.
Insightful Secondary Literature:
Gregory Collins, Commerce and Manners in Edmund Burke’s Political Economy (New York: Cambridge, 2020).
Yuval Levin, The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Left and Right (New York: Basic Books, 2014).
Harvey C. Mansfield, Statesmanship and Party Government (Chicago: University of Chicago, 2012).
Russell Kirk, A Genius Reconsidered (Washington D.C.: Regnery, 2009).
Peter J. Stanlis, Edmund Burke and the Natural Law (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1958).
Useful External Links:
The Great Thinkers: Edmund Burke