A 1790 open letter turned book-length polemic against the French Revolution, written before the Terror had even begun, arguing that a society is a partnership across generations that inherited institutions embody, and that sweeping those institutions away in favor of abstract rights invites not liberty but chaos followed by despotism. Its warnings that the Revolution would collapse into violence and eventually military dictatorship were widely read afterward as prophetic, and the book became the founding text of Anglo-American conservatism.
Facts
Partially Attested
Genre / FormSourced to the subject's own accountPublished as a political pamphlet, but Burke wrote it in the mode of a letter (it began as a reply to a correspondent); letter-epistle is the closest allowed value. Publication Year Original Language Connections
Authored By
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
In Branch
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.- Britannica, "Edmund Burke"
- Authored By: Edmund Burke
View the Source 2. Reflections on the Revolution in France (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead, opening sentence
Reflections on the Revolution in France is a political pamphlet written by the British statesman Edmund Burke and published in November 1790.
Lead, letter-mode sentence
Before seeing this work as a pamphlet, Burke wrote in the mode of a letter, invoking expectations of openness and selectivity that added a layer of meaning.
View the Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and InformationIn Branch: Political PhilosophyView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.