Content deleted Content added
Line 80:
Conservatism is generally seen as an [[ideology]], in the sense of a coherent and comprehensive political programme, based on a view of the world, and especially on specific [[values]]. In practice, all western conservative movements, and certainly all Conservative parties, operate on the basis of a formal written programme or policy statement. However, the classical conservative tradition in English-speaking countries, which usually regards [[Edmund Burke]] as its intellectual source, often insists that it is ''not'' an ideology. That is often intended in the sense of a [[utopia|utopian]] ideology, with some form of plan for society. Burkean conservatives claim to be [[pragmatic]], and to avoid a formal set of principles.
Edmund Burke developed his ideas in reaction to the [[The Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], and the idea of a society guided by abstract "Reason." Although he did not use the term, he anticipated the critique of [[modernism]], a term first used at the end of the 19th century by the Dutch religious
Some men, argued Burke, have more reason than others, and thus some men will make worse governments if they rely upon reason than others. To Burke, the proper formulation of government came not from abstractions such as "Reason," but from time-honoured development of the state and of other important societal institutions such as the family and the Church.
| |||