POLS 250 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: French Revolution, Political Radicalism, Political Philosophy
4 Apr 2016
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Mp for bristol from 1774 to 1780. Burke on the american and french revolution (late 1700s: supporter of the american revolution and a staunch. French revolution: deluded people, savages, etc, a repudiation of all the institutions that provided france with its success. Usa: avoiding war with america will threaten stability and the old traditions of england. Would be a fixation rather than things that are truly in the interest of england: america would be difficult to conquer, america was unlikely to acquiesce, america was a unique experiment. Unique context established it as an experiment to interact with. France the new regime: religion, geography as close to england implies a potentially larger effect by a revolution in the centre of europe, a repudiation of all the institutions that provided france with its success. Motto: at once to preserve and reform . Political theory: backwards looking, forward looking to use the general will to transform inequality to equality.
