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By Meghan Waters, Class of 2014
On Labor Day weekend a group of McConnell Scholars traveled to Dr. Russell Kirk’s home in Mecosta, MI, to discuss his famous work, The Conservative Mind. Per usual, the trip was full of intriguing discussions (plus bowties, flaming raisins, and ghost stories). The conference focused on the question of whether or not conservatism has a place in contemporary American political thought. One of my favorite parts of the conference was our discussion with Professor Gleaves Whitney on Edmund Burke and his place in the conservative movement.
Edmund Burke, a member of the British House of Commons during the 18th century, was a notable conservative thinker. He is most well-known for his work titled Reflections on the Revolution in France, in which he expresses his contempt for the Enlightenment movement and the French Revolution. Burke’s ideas resonate with contemporary conservatives, and he is considered one of the giants of the conservative camp. Naturally, Dr. Kirk devotes a whole chapter to him in The Conservative Mind.
I had never before studied Burke; my first encounter with him was at this conference. As I was reading this chapter on Burke, one passage really caught my eye. This is an excerpt from Burke’s Reflections where he describes the connection between the past, present, and future generations of a society:
“As the ends of such a partnership cannot be obtained in many generations, it becomes a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born. Each contract of each particular state is but a clause in the great primaeval contract of eternal society, linking the lower with the higher nature, connecting the visible and invisible world, according to a fixed compact sanctioned by the inviolable oath which holds all physical and all moral natures, each in their appointed place….”
Since we are all inextricably woven in the web of life, if you will, it is crucial that we think not only in terms of the present, but also consider our ancestral foundations and the implications of our decisions for the future. Although Burke is not opposed to change, he stresses the importance of slow and deliberate decision-making in the context of this societal contract between past, present, and future generations. Burke advocates for statesmen with the disposition to conserve, but possessing the ability to reform when necessary. Otherwise, change would be made at every whim and fancy of the people, destroying the connection between past, present, and future:
“One of the first and most leading principles on which the commonwealth and its laws are consecrated, is lest the temporary possessors and life-renters in it, unmindful of what they have received from their ancestors, or of what is due to their posterity, should act as if they were the entire masters; that they should not think it among their rights to cut off the entail, or commit waste on the inheritance, by destroying at their pleasure the whole original fabric of their society; hazarding to leave to those who come after them a ruin instead of a habitation – and teaching these successors as little to respect their contrivances, as they had themselves respected the institutions of their forefathers.”
Burke is cautioning us about the consequences of short-sighted change. Personally, I find this concept fascinating and especially relevant. In a day and age where the desire for immediate results runs rampant, Burke seems out of touch. In actuality, we are the ones who are out of touch. How often do we consider the implications of our decisions for posterity, or take into account the decisions of those who have come before us? A pertinent example: Burke would be appalled at our ever increasing national debt. Because of the short-sightedness on Capitol Hill, my generation and the generations to follow will have to suffer the consequences of our forebears’ financial irresponsibility.
Returning to the question of the conference (whether or not conservatism has a place in today’s society), I think we need to reconsider the foundations of the conservative movement now more than ever. Our propensity as a society for rash and careless decision-making is out of control. Modernizing Burke, we need to check ourselves before we wreck ourselves.
Meghan Waters, of California, Ky., is a senior McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. She is majoring in Political Science and Justice Administration and minoring in Classical Languages.
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| Meghan Waters in Dr. Russell Kirk's library |
Edmund Burke, a member of the British House of Commons during the 18th century, was a notable conservative thinker. He is most well-known for his work titled Reflections on the Revolution in France, in which he expresses his contempt for the Enlightenment movement and the French Revolution. Burke’s ideas resonate with contemporary conservatives, and he is considered one of the giants of the conservative camp. Naturally, Dr. Kirk devotes a whole chapter to him in The Conservative Mind.
I had never before studied Burke; my first encounter with him was at this conference. As I was reading this chapter on Burke, one passage really caught my eye. This is an excerpt from Burke’s Reflections where he describes the connection between the past, present, and future generations of a society:
“As the ends of such a partnership cannot be obtained in many generations, it becomes a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born. Each contract of each particular state is but a clause in the great primaeval contract of eternal society, linking the lower with the higher nature, connecting the visible and invisible world, according to a fixed compact sanctioned by the inviolable oath which holds all physical and all moral natures, each in their appointed place….”
Since we are all inextricably woven in the web of life, if you will, it is crucial that we think not only in terms of the present, but also consider our ancestral foundations and the implications of our decisions for the future. Although Burke is not opposed to change, he stresses the importance of slow and deliberate decision-making in the context of this societal contract between past, present, and future generations. Burke advocates for statesmen with the disposition to conserve, but possessing the ability to reform when necessary. Otherwise, change would be made at every whim and fancy of the people, destroying the connection between past, present, and future:
“One of the first and most leading principles on which the commonwealth and its laws are consecrated, is lest the temporary possessors and life-renters in it, unmindful of what they have received from their ancestors, or of what is due to their posterity, should act as if they were the entire masters; that they should not think it among their rights to cut off the entail, or commit waste on the inheritance, by destroying at their pleasure the whole original fabric of their society; hazarding to leave to those who come after them a ruin instead of a habitation – and teaching these successors as little to respect their contrivances, as they had themselves respected the institutions of their forefathers.”
Burke is cautioning us about the consequences of short-sighted change. Personally, I find this concept fascinating and especially relevant. In a day and age where the desire for immediate results runs rampant, Burke seems out of touch. In actuality, we are the ones who are out of touch. How often do we consider the implications of our decisions for posterity, or take into account the decisions of those who have come before us? A pertinent example: Burke would be appalled at our ever increasing national debt. Because of the short-sightedness on Capitol Hill, my generation and the generations to follow will have to suffer the consequences of our forebears’ financial irresponsibility.
Returning to the question of the conference (whether or not conservatism has a place in today’s society), I think we need to reconsider the foundations of the conservative movement now more than ever. Our propensity as a society for rash and careless decision-making is out of control. Modernizing Burke, we need to check ourselves before we wreck ourselves.
Meghan Waters, of California, Ky., is a senior McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. She is majoring in Political Science and Justice Administration and minoring in Classical Languages.