British statesman, political theorist, orator, author, and philosopher Edmund Burke was well-known from roughly 1765 to 1795. He was a conservative thinker with a strong sense of morality and political philosophy. The purpose of the essay is to explore Burke’s philosophy as a rebellion against enlightenment thought of the eighteenth century. The analysis also demonstrates how revolution differs from revolt or terrorism using recent examples. The second section of the essay discusses several perspectives on social order and the conditions that might constitute a potential basis for revolution.
Burke argued that the government was a trust-based regime founded on kinship, power concentrated on the few elites, property and law. He attached importance on history and tradition and the rationality of the human nature. The French Revolution attacked this perspective of Edmund Burke. This resulted in him rejecting the Enlightenment regime (Stanlis, 2006). Enlightenment is the time in history whereby western thought and culture was characterized by revolutions in science, politics, philosophy and general aspects of the society. These happenings came about during the 17th and 18th century. Enlightenment thought was seen widely through the French Uprising whereby the traditional pyramid of social and political powers were demolished and substituted with political and social order influenced by the Enlightenment ideologies.
Burke revolted against the enlightenment thought to the end of his life. The philosopher was discontented with the ideology that depicted extreme liberalism and individualism. Burke argued that various disasters undermined the individual capacity hence human reason alone would not solve the political and economic problems faced by man. Individual freedom would not fully guarantee social well being of the society and therefore he despised enlightenment by arguing that it promoted selfishness and arrogance. Being a conservatist, he questioned the modern media and politics arguing that it offered no truth but only unreliable narratives deployed in the exercise of power. Burke offered unchanging principles characterized by loyalty, honor, duty and wisdom as traced back to the history of man. His antagonism to the movement led to his writing “Reflections on the Revolution in France” in 1790 which attracted hostile replies from various people including Thomas Paine (Borstlap, 2013).
In the contemporary society, Ukraine’s Orange Revolution is an example of a regime that was commenced with aim to fight corruption, dictatorship, demand the truth and enforce democracy. However, this is system under Bessmertny Yushchenko turned out to be a destructive rebellion. The impact of the internet and digital age on both constructive and destructive rebellion cannot be emphasized enough.
Difference of Revolution from Rebellion or Terrorism
Revolution is completely different from rebellion or terrorism; in fact it is the opposite. A revolutionist tries to convince people to change their actions and thoughts. Revolutionists are considered selfless in that they value the interests of others and in most cases, revolution targets to make the world a better place (Borstlap, 2013. Terrorism or rebellion is unlawful. A terrorist uses violence or an illegitimate method to coerce others to serve their interests. A rebel or a terrorist believes in their own ideals and they have a tendency of using force and extreme actions such as killings while attempting to change the world around them. Rebellion refers to open resistance against the authority. It is distinct from revolution in that it majorly seeks to evade oppressive power and targets to overthrow the particular power or even destroy it.
Accordingly, rebellion in such a situation would overthrow the ruling class and replace it with a new system of political economy that would suit the new ruling class. Theda Skocpol is the mastermind behind social revolution ideology. Skocpol argues that these revolutions are the grassroots of the society since it transforms the nature of the social structure which would ultimately influence the political arena (Borstlap, 2013). Social order and justification of Criminal activities such as terrorism have an incredibly negative effect to the society.
An example that we can relate to is the current Syrian civil war caused by a mass of revolutionary factions and joint rebel militia. The rebellion has since spun out of control, making it one of the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century. We can also relate to Osama Bin Laden’s infamous use of terrorism to destroy thousands of lives. Bombings, shootings, hijacking, assassinations and kidnappings are the some of the components of terrorism. Karl Marx is a classical theorists explores this topic in detail. Karl Marx analyzed the political, social and economic situation of his time. The central point on Marx’s analysis on revolution is based on capitalism (Balibar, 2011). The class-based relations of power fundamentally impact on the imbalance between socialism and capitalism.
Social order and justification of revolution
The relationship between moral rights and its restrictions on administrative powers justifies revolutions if there is a violation of the moral right by the administrative authority. Inequality of power is a troubleshooting factor in many fields. The police, the courts, the politicians among other superior personnel in a state are the heads of social control. According to Karl Marx, social order in capitalist societies is based on coercion whereby in such a case, the most powerful control over the less powerful (Balibar, 2011). The sustenance of the society is derived from consensus and shared values in which these values are overstepped, then the inflicted will tend to revolt. Oppression by the authority would largely necessitate revolution. Feminist approach believes that social order is a picture painted the dominant class, the men, who oppress in order to retain their social standards. Injustices faced by the inferior prompts them to revolt against the oppressive authority. Acquisition of power in an illegitimate method also justifies revolution. The need to restore the initial situation or to bring about positive change can be done through revolt against the government. The balance between socialization, social sanctions, and the self interests of every person has to be in check in order to cement the social ground (Aston, 2002).
Conclusion
To conclude, the paper analyses Edmund Bruke’s revolution ideology and relates it to how the contemporary society relates to the subject. More so, the article discusses how social institutions, practices and social structures co-relate with human behavior in the society. Law and society at the same time interrelate while change is always a constant factor. Tracing back to history, revolution has emanated quite severally, based on the economic, social and political situation of the particular state.
References
Aston, Nigel. (2002). Christianity and Revolutionary Europe, c. 1750-1830. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.
Balibar Etenne (2011), The Philosophy of Marx. Verso, 1995 (French edition: La philosophie de Marx, La Découverte, Repères)
Borstlap, J. (2013). The classical revolution: Thoughts on new music in the 21st century. Lanham: Scarecrow Press.
Choices for the 21st Century Education Program. (2016). The American revolution: Experiences of rebellion.
Stanlis, Peter J. (2006). Edmund Burke: The Enlightenment and Revolution (New Brunswick & London: Transaction Publisher.
