The Role of Passion in Burke's View of Authority

3min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

Burke values stability and continuity, so he is averse to sharp breaks. He believed that the British form of government was an essential part of Britain's traditions. Pain basically said, if government is legitimate, then I'll respect it. If it's not, then I won't. The test of that is not in history, but in what it's doing and how it's using power.

Yuval Levin, author of The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Right and Left, talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas of Burke and Paine and their influence on the evolution of political philosophy. Levin outlines the differing approaches of the two thinkers to liberty, authority, and how reform and change should take place. Other topics discussed include Hayek's view of tradition, Cartesian rationalism, the moral high ground in politics, and how the "right and left" division of American politics finds its roots in the debates of these thinkers from the 1700s.