How well does 'conservative' describe Burke's political philosophy Essay

How well does 'conservative' describe Burke's political philosophy - Essay Example In a short biography published in the Encyclopaedia Britannica (2004) it is stated that ‘British statesman, parliamentary orator, and political thinker prominent in public life from 1765 to about 1795 and important in the history of political theory; he championed conservatism in opposition to Jacobinism in Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)’ (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2004) . In fact, the support of conservatism by Burke was clear. However, as already stated above it was because such a view was not clearly expressed that Burke was not considered to be a supporter of conservatism. Towards the above direction, it is noticed by Parkin (1956, 1) that ‘it is commonly affirmed that the peculiar genius of Burke lay in his capacity to contemplate the sphere of politics under the aspect of moral law, to reach out for the unchanging principles of morality in the contingencies of political action’. In other words, Burke was actively involved in politics. H owever, his participation was not direct; he kept on writing (and publishing) his views trying to influence the development of specific political and social ideas within the British society. In other countries also his work influenced the philosophical thought; this influence was not catalytic, i.e. his ideas were hardly adopted in their full content; they were more likely to be used for the justification of theories and principles that referred to morality and political framework in that particular period. It is for this reason that Parkin notices: ‘yet the study of his political thought hardly seems to have accorded the moral question the priority which it deserves; if, in Burkes opinion, the principles of true politics are those of morality enlarged, the most important question to ask about Burke must be what precisely, for him, the principles of morality were’ (Parkin, 1956, 1). In accordance with the above view, one of the main weaknesses of Burke’s theories has