• The post you are reporting:
   
  Well, I must admit I did have a look at Mr Norman's short lecture (his speaking voice reminded me of the fair Boris: these elitists all sound the same to me). I almost gave up early when he got a dig in at Thomas Paine (not that I think TP's the last word, but it was a cheap shot to set up an opposition when the relationship is a bit more complex). JN's purpose wasn't to tell us, yet again, that Burke was the founder of conservatism and a principled man whose apparently contradictory positions on the British Empire, American Independence and the French Revolution were the products of an entirely consistent political philosophy. Rather it was to claim that Burke was the articulator of a particular brand of conservatism, communitarian rather than individualistic, presumably the kind of which Norman is an example. In other words it's another shot in the intra-conservative battle for the soul of Burke. But for me, the lecture was more notable for what it left out: the anti-democratic, elitist element that is just as central to Burke's philosophy and which remains a fundamental part of conservative thinking to this day.
  
  Anyway, I wonder what Charlotte would think of all this.

Report Post

Your Name

Reason