Interesting article and

moat — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 02:41:06 +0000

In reply to Edmund Burke and American Conservatism

Interesting article and discussion.

The truly reactionary movements that I can think of, like France after the revolution or Spain after their civil war, used previously established institutions to base their authority upon. The odd thing about the tea party thing is that they don't promulgate the restoration of institutions. The future will be secured through simply removing obstacles to an ongoing process that would have saved us by now if we would have only let it do its thing.

There is so much confidence expressed in something nobody can account for.

From Kwak's piece: Robin

AmericanDreamer — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:59:59 +0000

In reply to Edmund Burke and American Conservatism

From Kwak's piece:

Robin also highlights the importance of victimhood in conservatism, going back to Edmund Burke’s tears for Marie Antoinette. To restore something, you have to have lost something in the first place.

Right. Does anyone these days in politics advocate openly and explicitly for the status quo? (Was that ever the case sometimes?) Or are all elections about whose intended changes are the right and better ones--whose narrative or story of where we've been, where we are now, and where we need to go sounds more appealing to the majority of those who show up to vote?

What organized political force in our day, then, is "conservative" in the old-fashioned sense of literally having a default desire to maintain or conserve traditions and practices thought to be valuable, or at least least-bad? Aren't all such organized forces aiming for policy changes of one sort or another? Is life in our day seen as so inherently dynamic and fast-moving that even those who like and might prefer the status quo believe the way to preserve what has been best about our society is not to stand pat but to deliberately seek particular kinds of changes or adjustments?

The nature and direction of what changes are needed in our society is being intensely contested. But this much seems clear: if there ever was a day when open advocacy for the status quo--for what was once known as political conservatism--was thought able to win someone a national election that day today seems something of a distant memory.

dagblog - Comments for "Edmund Burke and American Conservatism"

Interesting article and

From Kwak's piece: Robin