Edmund Burke's Conservative Perspective on Imperialism

• In Event: Poster Session: Political Thought and Philosophy II

Abstract

As a prominent political thinker deeply engaged in empirical politics during the eighteenth century, Edmund Burke dedicated a substantial portion of his public life and political career to the study of India and British rule in the region. This paper endeavors to delve into Burke's political writings and public speeches and investigate the extent to which he can be classified as an anti-imperialist conservative thinker within the intellectual landscape of the eighteenth century. In Burke's eloquent rhetoric and evocative figurative language, he portrays Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of Bengal, and the East India Company as the epitome of despotic power and corruption, while India's civilization is portrayed as possessing a longer historical legacy than Britain's. By juxtaposing Burke's impeachment of Warren Hastings with his seminal work Reflections on the Revolution in France, I argue that while Burke vehemently critiqued the despotism embodied by Hastings and the East India Company, his stance does not inherently align with anti-imperialism; rather, it harmonizes with his conservative philosophy and his fervent opposition to Jacobinism.

Author

• Yixin Bai, Georgetown University