Edmund Burke

It is difficult to write a history of conservatism or the end of the Enlightenment without writing about Edmund Burke. Ironically, despite Burke’s standing as a titan in the history of conservatism, a goodly segment of scholarship questions whether or not he even was a conservative. Indeed, there is much that is uncertain regarding Edmund Burke’s political theory, and contemporary scholars are still rummaging through the finer details of his life and writings. This chapter does not seek to influence Burke scholarship, nor do I make any original claims regarding Edmund Burke. Instead, I provide useful background and documentation so that others may continue to write Burke’s story. I do this by summarizing and briefly assessing several flashpoints within the Burke literature—namely, his stance on history and aesthetics; his views on the British Empire’s worthiness; his views of and activity during the American Revolution; his posthumous dialogue with Leo Strauss; his noteworthy debate with Thomas Paine; and the question of whether or not Burke was a liberal.