A classroom project conducted at The Citadel in partnership with ISI.
Session 2: Edmund Burke and the Origins of Modern Conservatism
Guest Lecturer: David Armstrong Norcross, Esq. — View a short interview regarding this theme
Themes: Overview of ideas and circumstances surrounding the origins of modern conservatism; the Burke-Paine debate over the nature of liberty, the foundations of state and society, and human rights; the significance of private property; contrasting conservatism and 18th century liberalism.
Recorded: 1/25/2012
Required Reading:
Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Laws of England in Four Books, Chapter 1: Of the Absolute Rights of Individuals, §122–128
Burke, Edmund. Select Works of Edmund Burke, Vol. 2: Reflections on the Revolution in France (p. 136–144, 151–157, 159–176)
Campbell, William. “Blackstone’s Law and Economics”
Kirk, Russell. “Edmund Burke: A Revolution of Theoretic Dogma,” The Essential Russell Kirk (p. 138–152)
Kirk, Russell. “Three Pillars of Order: Edmund Burke, Samuel Johnson, Adam Smith”
Paine, Thomas. Selections, Common Sense, in David Hollinger and Charles Capper, The American Intellectual Tradition: Volume I – 1630 to 1865
Paine, Thomas. Selections, The Rights of Man in The Portable Enlightenment Reader (p. 469–472)
Stanlis, Peter. “Ideology and the Revolutionary Spirit”
Recommended Reading:
Burke, Edmund. Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies, March 22, 1775
Burke, Edmund. Thoughts and Details on Scarcity
Petrella, Frank. “Edmund Burke: A Liberal Practitioner of Political Economy”
Preece, Rod. “The Political Economy of Edmund Burke”
Winthrop, John. “A Modell of Christian Charity,” in David Hollinger and Charles Capper, The American Intellectual Tradition: Volume I – 1630 to 1865 (see also this link)
Nisbet, Robert A. Conservatism: Dream and Reality. Open University Press, 1986.