Irish-British statesman and philosopher — Whig MP — author of Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790) — who created modern conservatism by arguing for the value of inherited institutions, tradition, and gradual reform over abstract reason.
Creates modern conservatism — Burke's Reflections argument (that the French Revolution's abstract rationalism destroys the inherited wisdom embedded in traditional institutions, and that reform must be gradual and respect existing social bonds) is the foundational statement of conservative political philosophy.
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