Modern Age - Winter 2016 - 30

MODERN AGE

WINTER 2016

While abortion was not an issue that dominated debate in the
House of Commons of his time, Burke's public career was marked
by controversies as divisive as abortion is now. Nisbet's invocation of Burke suggests that what we might learn from him has
more to do with the eighteenth-century statesman's general
understanding of the aims and limits of political power than it
does with specific policy proposals or outcomes. Nisbet's adjective "noble" further suggests that Burke's expediency is more
than simply politics as usual and points toward prudence as the
primary political virtue.3
The heart of Burkean expediency, which Nisbet contrasts with
"coercive law," is its "respectful recognition of the powerful and
necessary role in human existence of privacy, use and wont,
tradition, and practicality, not to forget larger and long-range
consequences. Burke argued that 'very plausible schemes, with
very pleasing commencements, have often shameful and lamentable conclusions.' He added, 'Is, then, no improvement to be
brought into society? Undoubtedly; but not by compulsion-but
by encouragement, by countenance, favor, privileges, which are
powerful and lawful instruments. The coercive authority of the
state is limited to what is necessary for its citizens'" (PPD, 8).
This view of Burke is contestable, of course, and there are some
commentators on Burke who may seek substantive policy guidance from him. It should be useful, therefore, to illustrate the
range of different interpretations of Burke that are found among
American conservatives after World War II, when the contemporary conservative movement was starting to take form. This presentation will not be comprehensive, but I hope to highlight the
gist of six influential approaches to Burke.

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Modern Age - Winter 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Modern Age - Winter 2016

Contents
Modern Age - Winter 2016 - Cover1
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