Societies must have a reverence for history and change cannot be ushered in radically and swiftly, but rather slowly over time to preserve traditions and functional institutions. Burke is a critic of the French Revolution. Burke states, “A spirit of innovation is generally the result of a selfish temper and confined views. People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors” (33). Men do not have the right to dismantle institutions that have been in place throughout history and usher in new ones for the sake of revolution. They will only do so thoughtlessly. Revolutions selfishly destroy institutions crafted by tradition and throughout history. They do not consider lessons from the past and revolutionaries
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Society and “Government is not made in virtue of natural rights, which may and do exist in total independence of it” (Burke 60). Men possess rights because the government gives it to them. There are no natural rights and government is isolated from such a concept. The purpose of government is to protect society from the total liberty. Liberty unregulated by government can be dangerous because “By having a right to everything [men] want everything. Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants [...] provided for by this wisdom. Among these wants is to be reckoned the want, out of civil society, of a sufficient restraint upon their passions” (Burke 9). Government should restrict the rights of men in order to protect society from the passions of men. By giving people the right to do whatever they want, it would defeat the purpose of the government’s role to protect society for the future. Even if there are problems with the present government, the “rights of men in governments are their advantages; and these are often in balances between differences of good, in compromises sometimes between good and evil, and sometimes between evil and evil” (Burke 62). No government is perfect, but Burke is concerned with consequentialism. By allowing the present generation to do as they please, they have no regard for future generations. Restraining the passions of men is
Society and “Government is not made in virtue of natural rights, which may and do exist in total independence of it” (Burke 60). Men possess rights because the government gives it to them. There are no natural rights and government is isolated from such a concept. The purpose of government is to protect society from the total liberty. Liberty unregulated by government can be dangerous because “By having a right to everything [men] want everything. Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants [...] provided for by this wisdom. Among these wants is to be reckoned the want, out of civil society, of a sufficient restraint upon their passions” (Burke 9). Government should restrict the rights of men in order to protect society from the passions of men. By giving people the right to do whatever they want, it would defeat the purpose of the government’s role to protect society for the future. Even if there are problems with the present government, the “rights of men in governments are their advantages; and these are often in balances between differences of good, in compromises sometimes between good and evil, and sometimes between evil and evil” (Burke 62). No government is perfect, but Burke is concerned with consequentialism. By allowing the present generation to do as they please, they have no regard for future generations. Restraining the passions of men is