Die tradisioneel-konserwatiewe vryheidsbe-skouing van Edmund Burke teenoor dié van moderne konserwatisme

Abstract

Edmund Burke’s traditonal conservative conception of freedom as opposed to that of modern conservatism Even though Edmund Burke (1729–1797) is regularly described as the “founder of conservatism”, it is argued in this article that Burke would not recognise his thinking in what is today regarded as modern conservatism. This is because modern conservatism – and the different strands that constitute it – can more aptly be described as particular strands within the broad framework of liberalism. The reason is that modern conservatism is in many ways built on liberal cornerstones, such as the pursuit of individual freedom, free markets, an appeal to political theory and a quest to universalise its way of thinking. Modern conservatism can be divided into a number of strands. It is argued that the most infl uential of these strands include: 1