Edmund Burke: The First Conservative

by Jesse Norman Narrated by Antony Ferguson

Overview

Edmund Burke is both the greatest and the most underrated political thinker of the past three hundred years. A brilliant 18th-century Irish philosopher and statesman, Burke was a fierce champion of human rights and the Anglo-American constitutional tradition, and a lifelong campaigner against arbitrary power. Revered by great Americans including Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, Burke has been almost forgotten in recent years. But as politician and political philosopher Jesse Norman argues in this penetrating biography, we cannot understand modern politics without him.



As Norman reveals, Burke was often ahead of his time, anticipating the abolition of slavery and arguing for free markets, equality for Catholics in Ireland, and responsible government in India, among many other things. He was not always popular in his own lifetime, but his ideas about power, community, and civic virtue have endured long past his death. Indeed, Burke engaged with many of the same issues politicians face today, including the rise of ideological extremism, the loss of social cohesion, the dangers of the corporate state, and the effects of revolution on societies. He offers us now a compelling critique of liberal individualism, and a vision of society based not on a self-interested agreement among individuals, but rather on an enduring covenant between generations.



Burke won admirers in the American colonies for recognizing their fierce spirit of liberty and for speaking out against British oppression, but his greatest triumph was seeing through the utopian aura of the French Revolution. In repudiating that revolution, Burke laid the basis for much of the robust conservative ideology that remains with us to this day: one that is adaptable and forward-thinking, but also mindful of the debt we owe to past generations and our duty to preserve and uphold the institutions we have inherited. He is the first conservative.



A rich, accessible, and provocative biography, Edmund Burke describes Burke's life and achievements alongside his momentous legacy, showing how Burke's analytical mind and deep capacity for empathy made him such a vital thinker-both for his own age, and for ours.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"A must-read for anyone interested in politics and history.... Superb."—Matthew D'Ancona, Sunday Telegraph

"A top-notch introduction to Burke and his paternity of political systems throughout the Western Hemisphere."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"You won't find a more impressive political philosopher than the eighteenth-century MP who more or less invented Anglosphere conservatism. And you won't find a pithier, more readable treatise on his life and works than this one."—Wall Street Journal

"An engaging, highly readable, and impressively comprehensive overview. [Edmund Burke] handles the intricacies of English history and politics with great mastery and conveys Burke's character and personality as few of his biographers have managed to do."—National Review

"A superb new biography.... Jesse Norman succeeds in elevating his subject, showing what is conservative about Burke, and why he matters today."—Financial Times

An outstanding biography."—Commentary

"A lucid and thrilling exposition of [Burke's] political philosophy.... The second part of the book is pure brilliance, a refreshingly candid and discursive examination of Burke's philosophy, and how the West might be wise to readopt it."—Washington Times

"A superb new biography.... Norman makes a strong case for Burke's continuing relevance.... Norman succeeds in bringing Burke to life and championing his thought."—American Spectator

"Norman Burke's biography ought to be one of the hot books for the right over the next year. Like Burke, Norman is a philosopher as well as a politician. He offers a brisk and engaging introduction to the iconic thinker's life and thought."—E.J. Dionne, Washington Post

"A Conservative NP himself, Norman has been tipped as a future prime minister—but this stimulating book suggests that he may well have an alternative career as a writer instead."—Sunday Business Post Historical Epics Round-Up (UK)

"Norman has a knack for presenting in clear and cogent terms notions taken from political theory, philosophy, and the social sciences."—Los Angeles Review of Books

"Norman finds just the right balance between fact-paced storytelling and gripping historical detail, and he shines a light both on Burke's great strengths as a thinker, writer, and orator and on his great weaknesses."—National Review

"Not since Cicero had a major political thinker been a practicing politician in the center of the arena. So it is refreshingly welcome to have Burke reassessed today by another politician.... Norman boldly summarizes Burke's thought for our time."—New Criterion

"A scintillating book.... Norman's erudition and rebellious streak...has led to chatter about his potential as a Tory leader. He has something of Polonius about him. Just as with an earlier pamphlet called The Big Society, he has now, under the guise of history, articulated much of what our government stands for."—Evening Standard (UK)

"An excellent book, which unites biographical and political insights. The best short biography of Burke for nearly fifty years, and a pleasure to read."—Harvey Mansfield, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Government, Harvard University

"Jesse Norman has brought back Burke in triumph. Anyone who cares about politics will pounce on this book and devour it, as I did, in a sitting. A stunning performance."—Boris Johnson, former Mayor of London

Library Journal

Edmund Burke (1729–97) is one of those illustrious political figures now hazily remembered by general readers. He was a member of the British Parliament and a successful writer. A reformer and classical liberal—today he'd be a conservative—he worked for free trade and ending the sinecures that drained the public purse, and he strove for better governance of India. He tried to stop the breach between Britain and its colonies, but was ignored. Norman, himself a Conservative member of Parliament, first presents Burke's life, then examines the man's philosophy. The results serve as a solid, workmanlike introduction to the reformer and his time. The philosophical half of the book is clear, free of jargon, and accessible, painting Burke as a realist; man is "imperfectable," he maintained; science and logic cannot rule; the individual is inescapably part of a society. VERDICT A sound introduction to a thinker who remains important two centuries after his death. Very lightly footnoted and with a select bibliography, this will be a starting point for readers new to the study of Burke's life and ideas.—Michael O. Eshleman, Hobbs, NM

FEBRUARY 2014 - AudioFile

This examination of statesman Edmund Burke’s life and times is expertly performed by Antony Ferguson. He maintains strong control of the pacing in this work, which describes Burke’s incredibly modern approaches to England’s problems in the eighteenth century. Burke’s opposition to the French Revolution and his empathy for the American Colonies were full of foresight. Listeners familiar with the events pummeling England at that time will appreciate Ferguson’s smooth renderings of Burke’s political thinking, which, if followed, would have changed the course of history. The author’s solid portrait of the man is skillfully drawn for the listener. Ferguson’s performance presents us with an exquisite picture of a man ahead of his time. E.E.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

Member of Parliament Norman (Compassionate Economics, 2008, etc.) comprehensively explains the history and the writings of the man whose thoughts have been quarried by politicians for hundreds of years. The author smartly divides his biography into sections on Edmund Burke's (1729–1797) life and his thought. The Dubliner arrived in London at age 20, and while he rarely returned, he strove throughout his 30-year parliamentary career for his countrymen and especially the Catholics in that land. Norman eases us into Burke's thinking, which was not a strict system of philosophy, but rather a flexible inconsistency dealing with the preservation of the social order and the essentials of political leadership. Where a philosopher searches for the proper ends of government, a politician searches for the means to that goal. Burke supported the cause of the American Revolution and vainly tried to prevent it, and he opposed the French Revolution because it focused on individuals and not so much liberty as license for the individual and his ethics of vanity--i.e., "what's in it for me?" Burke's writings were soundly rejected by Thomas Paine but extensively used in James Madison's institution of checks and balances. The author carefully clarifies the establishments of political parties (as opposed to factions), the relationship of representatives to voters, and the "Burkean imaginative engagement: a balance between ego and circumstance, between ambition and constraint, between individual and society." He also provides a fascinating picture of the political scene in England in the 18th century, where votes were bought with liquor or directed by landlords. A top-notch introduction to Burke and his paternity of political systems throughout the Western Hemisphere. Even better, the author points out where ignoring Burke's thoughts have caused unnecessary difficulties.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170692996
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	11/18/2013
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos