Category Archives: Philosophy

1789: The ‘progressives’ celebrate an obscenity

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We have just passed the anniversary of the most obscene and determining event of the modern era. That event flung the Western World into a dizzying irresistible ride that has left millions upon millions dead and European Civilization on the point of collapse.

On the 14th of July 1789, the Paris rabble stormed the Bastille to release a few incapable and mad inmates. Far from the prisoners and their ferocious unkempt liberators being the true symbol of that political act, they have been raised to hallowed heights by those who talk the talk of democracy but work to impose a totalitarian ideology on the world. Continue reading →

Burke vs Paine – Then and Now

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Jesse Norman, author of one of the most recent biographies of Edmund Burke – and one of the best – reviews The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Left and Right, by Yuval Levin, (Basic Books) HERE. Norman’s book is Edmund Burke: Prophet, Politician and Philosopher, parts of which have been discussed on this website. Norman’s review of Levin’s book is highly recommended.

Report: Meeting of Edmund Burke’s Club (Australia) Inc. 7 February 2014

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A Commentary on Edmund Burke: Philosopher, Politician, Prophet

The meeting of Edmund Burke’s Club at the Savage Club, Melbourne, on 7 February was largely taken up by Gerard Wilson’s commentary on Part One of Jesse Norman’s  recent book, Edmund Burke: Philosopher, Politician, Prophet. The commentary was twice as long as the normal presentation which, the President said, could not be avoided because of the material to be covered. Despite the length of the presentation most people found a full coverage Burke’s life and political career interesting and said they were looking forward to the text being posted on the EBC website. The text is now posted: A REVIEW Edmund Burke Philosopher, Politician, Prophet

Samuel Taylor Coleridge – Conservatism’s radical prophet

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by John Ballantyne

Originally published in News Weekly, June 19, 2004

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) is famous as the English poet who wrote Kubla Khan and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, but today is almost forgotten as one of the greatest political thinkers of his time.

He was the first conservative to advocate social and political reforms as a means of maintaining a stable and cohesive society. He warned against the dangers of unchecked industrialisation, criticised the then prevailing ideology of the unfettered free-market, and called for far-reaching reforms to give the poor a greater stake in the economy. Continue reading →

Geoffrey Robertson Returns on a Visit to the Colony

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Geoffrey Robertson, human rights celebrity lawyer and Australian expatriate (in London) swanned into Australia again this last week to promote a new book. We must expect much the same from this visit: the Robertson superior waltz while he lectures the Australian population about that esoteric thing called law which he neatly divides into the good represented by Julian Assange and the bad represented by Pope Benedict XVI; the fawning adulation of the ABC and Fairfax journalists who bow, scrape and tug the forelock to so much awesome legal intelligence; and the reaction of those wretched outcast conservatives who have to hold their hand over their mouth in response to his emetic hypocrisy, anti-religious bigotry, sanctimony, and sweeping ideological condemnations. Continue reading →

Report: AGM and Seventh Meeting of Edmund Burke’s Club (Australia) Inc. 20 September 2013

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The Annual General meeting and the seventh of Edmund Burke’s Club (Australia) Inc took place at the Savage Club, Melbourne, on the 20th of September.

The President  welcomed members and guests, with a particular acknowledgment of Chris Rath, the Club’s only Sydney member. Chris had flown to Melbourne for this important occasion.

The President said that the AGM was a great occasion, celebrating a milestone that the membership can be truly proud of. From a seemingly off-the-cuff suggestion, EBC quickly took form, he said, and after a year in operation continues to build on that form. It has engaged the interest of an impressive membership who have maintained their enthusiasm, interest and commitment. At this present point, he continued, EBC is equipped to move ahead and pursue the objectives set out in its mission statement. Continue reading →