Strauss's critique of Burke: modern conservatism in the face of the classics

Abstract

In “Natural Right and History”, Leo Strauss criticizes Edmund Burke, establishing a distance between his project and the project of conservatism. This article aims to examine this criticism. First, it starts with a description of the main elements of Strauss's thought, his critique of modernity and his proposal to rescue the classical tradition. Political philosophy should be, according to Strauss, anchored in the question about the best regime. Secondly, this paper seeks to examine authors such as Burke, Kirk and Nisbet, in order to delimit the essence of conservatism. In addition to the rejection of abstraction, there is an emphasis on the legacy of past generations, dispersed throughout the social fabric. In conclusion: there would be, in Strauss, the concern with the best regime and a transcendent order; and there would be, among conservatives, a concern with the historically situated social order. However, even this conclusion is subject to nuances.