Edmund Burke and the Conservative Logic of Empire

"Edmund Burke and the Conservative Logic of Empire is a book of great originality, intellectual power and lucid argument, and a major reappraisal of Burke. The Burke who emerges from these pages is no proto-liberal who later and paradoxically became a conservative in the aftermath of 1789. On the contrary, O'Neill insists he was always a conservative and always an imperialist and that, with very few exceptions, his thought was exceptionally coherent, consistent, and systematic. This is an impressive piece of revisionism."—David Cannadine, author of Ornamentalism: How the British Saw Their Empire and The Undivided Past: Humanity Beyond Our Differences
 
"Bold and original, Edmund Burke and the Conservative Logic of Empire is an important intervention in debates about the history of imperial ideology and their continuing legacy. Challenging recent scholarly trends, Daniel O’Neill presents a powerful case that Burke offered a consistent and distinctive justification of empire, one that resonated through the nineteenth century and beyond."—Duncan Bell, University of Cambridge

"Recent scholars have decided that Edmund Burke was neither a conservative nor an imperialist. Daniel O'Neill assails those views and illuminates the modern politics of empire. His book is impeccably researched, powerfully argued, elegantly written, and devastatingly persuasive. Don't miss it."—Don Herzog, author of Poisoning the Minds of the Lower Orders

About the author

Daniel I. O’Neill is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida. He is the author of The Burke-Wollstonecraft Debate: Savagery, Civilization, and Democracy.

Summary

Edmund Burke, long considered modern conservatism's founding father, is also widely believed to be an opponent of empire. This book shows that Burke was a passionate supporter and staunch defender of the British Empire in the eighteenth century, whether in the new world, India, or Ireland.

Additional text

"O'Neill establishes Burke's defense of empire in detail, and it is a fascinating juxtaposition to most of the colonial rhetoric that has been parsed by political theorists."

Product details

• Authors: &apos, Daniel Neill, O&apos, Daniel O`neill, Daniel O'Neill, Daniel I. O'Neill, Daniel O''neill, O'Neill Daniel
• Publisher: University Of California Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 29.02.2016
• EAN: 9780520287822
• ISBN: 978-0-520-28782-2
• No. of pages: 272
• Series: Berkeley Series in British Studies; Berkeley Series in British Stu; Berkeley Series in British Studies
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political system; Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900, European History, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / General, HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain / Georgian Era (1714-1837), POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / European, HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain / Victorian Era (1837-1901), 19th century, c 1800 to c 1899, 18th century, c 1700 to c 1799, Political structure & processes, British & Irish history, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Political structure and processes, C 1700 To C 1800