Edmund Burke: Philosopher, Politician, Prophet by Jesse Norman

I will start by admitting that I have not read a great deal of Burke outside a handful of parliamentary speeches and analyses located on web pages. I always found myself in almost complete agreement with everything he said; his work has a particular type of consistency that most other people end up misunderstanding. Jesse Norman, MP for Hereford and South Hereford wrote this particular book of Burke’s life and work which I am today to recommend. Norman has been highlighted by such newspapers as the Spectator as being a potential future Tory leader. Let’s just hope he doesn’t abandon his Burkean roots if he ever does.

Part one is a short biography of Burke’s life, from his birth in Ireland to him giving up legal studies and pursuing a career as a writer, and then finally entering politics. The book does a wonderful job of painting a portrait of the man and the personality, setting the reader up with an understanding of the events that drove and influenced the individual before going onto explain his ideology and beliefs in the second part. This format appealed to me immensely as I feel people’s life experiences are an extremely influential factor in shaping their beliefs. It also helps the reader to understand the chronology of thought and social norms of the era in which Burke lived.

I believe Burke made the most important quote in political history when he said “Politics ought to be adjusted not to human reasoning but to human nature, of which reason is a part and by no means the greatest part.” In other words, you could reason that there was no god, or that racism is inherently evil, but does that mean that mass immigration and atheism are both practical policies to implement? The answer is no, and what Burke is trying to convey is that we should always be aware of the limitation of the average man. For all our scientific and cultural achievements the average IQ in Europe is still only 100, and I would argue the majority of people require religion in their lives to attain a high standard of morality without them having to understand why. With regards to mass immigration it is an extremely foolish policy to try and socially engineer society towards a path that is so far in direct conflict with their biological programing. The mounting levels of debt and the flow of immigration are like two speeding trains racing towards each other on the same track, and the funny thing is that we ought to have learned this lesson through observing the fall of Rome.

For anyone who wants to get the full understanding of the consistency of Burke, and particularly his concept of prescription and his take on the social contract then this should be a must read. A kindle version can be bought for £2.99 on amazon.