Locke's Liberalism and Burke's Conservatism Essay

Paper Type:  Essay
Pages:  5
Wordcount:  1374 Words
Date:  2022-02-21

The Liberalism and the conservationism ideologies always have a distinct opposite contrast in the manner in which they present ideas and concerns. The difference in the ideologies is often witnessed in the form of sex, cultural environment, and affirmative action, among others. For instance, the Liberals and conservatives often have two different options regarding issues like religion, politics, and cultural affiliations, among others. This work presents the ideological differences between conservationist Edmund Burke and liberalist John Lock.

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First, John Lock is regarded as one of the devoted and enlightened thinkers who posed significant influence on the libertarians and liberalist's ideologies. The ideologies around Liberalism are the presumption of liberty as the central concern for political traditions in society. Throughout his life, he advocated for the doctrines that were related to libertarians and liberalist's aspects. Notably, Locke was crowned the most influential considering his enlightened sensibilities about various issues. However, although Burke's valuable mind and the ideas were too uninspiring to lead the spirit of the nation, he tended to align his ideologies based on the existing status quo at that time.

According to John Lock, there needs to be a central authority within the society that punishes the various errands. Therefore, he strongly supports the need for a liberal form of government in every community. He believed in the separation of powers and argued that an organization could function better if it is divided into three compartments. Through the idea of termination of the nation into compartments for more comfortable ruling, the three estates of French hierarchy came to being. The old French regime was thus divided into Aristocracy, Monarchy ant the commons for more natural governance. Locke also believed inequality in terms of liberty, health, and the pursuit of happiness. He argued that each person had a right to healthcare, protection, and the right to achieve their desires and become what they wanted to become. These ideas formed the basis for the French revolutions. People participated in the revolt with the sole expectation of a better life.

John Lock also had the belief that any decision regarding governance should be based on reason. For instance, all the regular activities of a society should be questioned before adoption. The event of seeking for purposes for certain practices catalyzed the French revolution. For example, people began to wonder why there was high taxation for the third estate. Furthermore, the basic concepts of Locke's philosophy were grounded on the idea of inalienable rights. He argued that reasons are from the Creator of human beings. He said that the deprivation of such rights was equivalent to going against the will of God. The social construct was adopted by Locke to form the foundation for what he described as the legitimate government. His philosophy championed for Democratic government where the will of the majority was the dictating factor in the formulation of the government policies. The rights of every human being had to be respected in the government. Locke also argued that revolution, in some cases, becomes an obligation rather than mere morality.

On the other hand, the argument of Edmund regarding democracy in his book did not only attack the Republicans in France, but it was also attacking the Federalists and the Republicans in his country-USA. He questioned the Federalist's notion on the rights to frame the government for themselves and the right to choose their governors. Burke noted the necessity of governing the United States of America based on the conservative ideology when he questioned the need for secession. He also notes that America was to be governed according to the nature of the political traditions of the country rather than the abstract, imaginations, and government theories. He calls for rational reasoning of the decision makers. Although he had cautioned the British government against the use of force in government, the British government went against his ideologies. Burke had argued that the use of force was just a temporary method of governance. Burke had a desire to change the state of America and the British friendship through abolishment of the aggressive governance.

Edmund Burke portrayed himself as a conservative Whig as well as the opponent of the French Revolution. Burke, for instance, was against the French Revolution book published in the 1970s arguing that the events around the Enlightenment and the French revolution involved the destruction of the core values of the society such as morality and the family structures thus promoting anarchy and terrorism. He firmly believed that morality and family structures are the fabrics that hold the communities together. Ideally, both Locke and Burke tended to demonstrate certain similarities in various thoughts. However, they tend to arrive at considerably different conclusions about these matters.

Burke's intellectual orientation was geared towards political improvements, religion, and other philosophical methods. He thought that the roots of human activity are passion and passion, pleasure, and pain. He argued that curiosity was the stimulating factor of all the mind and the actions of human beings within society. His aristocratic conceptualization of politics to reflect the assumption that any given society is organized in a given natural hierarchy. It is worthy of acknowledging the contribution of the aristocratic constitution and principles in the eighteenth century. For instance, Burke was very interested in upholding the liberty that had been secured in 1688 through the English Revolution. His rejection of the corrupt and the oppressive constitution was in line with the adherence to the principle of the aristocracy.

Furthermore, Burke viewed the French Revolution as to occasion the needs for participation. He believed that the equalization of natural right argument was very different from the aristocratic political conceptions. He recommended the use of the theories of natural rights to stop the existing oppressive system.

It is noteworthy that both Locke and Burke under specific conditions support a political rebellion. The only difference is their discussion of revolution. For instance, John Locke tries to build the social construct concept, which examines the duties of the government and the remedies that could be put in place in case the state fails to undertake and uphold its obligations. However, Burke views political revolutions and rebellions differently. He notes that the French Revolution and the upheavals contribute to immense harm than good to both the state and the people.

Although the two philosophers agree on the importance of the revolution, they disagree on the basis that should warrant the revolution for any particular state. They also strongly disagree on the form kin, which the revolutions should take. Although they have a collective belief that revolutions can have both negative and positive implications to the citizens and the state depending on the form and considerations that warrant the revolutions.

Burke presented his concerns regarding the British Revolution revolutions and the wars in parliament. His foundation for his concerns was that the use of force could only offer temporary solutions to the political problems that societies faced. He was also worried about the possibility of the British winning the battle against the Americans. The foundation of this concept was that he believed that armament would not mean victory and that the British could surely lose the war.

Additionally, Burke had not condemned the French Revolution at the initial stages; however, his later Reflections sparkled the war. Because he championed for peoples' rights, the French late dismissed him because he could interfere with the European stability and the security of the region. He had believed that the traditional cultures and structures were better than those that were built over time to shatter the social and religious stability of France. According to him, the French Revolution was not geared towards reformation, but instead, it promoted anarchy within the region.

Unlike Burke, Locke's account of identity was profoundly revolutionary. He believed in change through a political revolution. He catalyzed the French Revolution through his liberal philosophy, which encouraged the general masses to participate in the revolution to meet their personal rights. He believed that everybody has a right that could only be secured through political changes and revolutions. The ideologies around Liberalism are often the presumption of liberty as the basic concern for political traditions in society. Locke had retrospectively collected the minds of the white land-owning individuals all over the colonies.

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Locke's Liberalism and Burke's Conservatism Essay. (2022, Feb 21). Retrieved from https://proessays.net/essays/lockes-liberalism-and-burkes-conservatism-essay

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