The Moral High Ground of Pain

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In a debate between pain and Burke, pain believes he holds the moral high ground while Burke argues that morality is complex, addressing the realities of human experience. Pain's Quaker upbringing influences his simple approach to justice, prioritizing the weak and poor. Burke, however, believes society is more nuanced, and statesmen must consider the full context when making moral choices.

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.