Society’s Liberal and Conservative Views on Religion

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Recommended: The impact of the French revolution on British society

The works of Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine can tell us a lot about their views and opinions on change and when change should come liberally and when it should come conservatively. Burke talks about the French Revolution and the Glorious Revolution in England in his work, Reflections on the Revolution in France. Burke had a more conservative view on change in government, saying that big changes in government make it a less stable institution, which leads to a loss in culture and society as citizens know it in France. I agree with Edmund Burke’s conservative ideas on change when it comes to the United States Government’s involvement in healthcare, which currently is a primarily private business. Paine, on the other hand, attacks Burke in his responsive work, Rights of Man. In Rights of Man, Paine explains: “…every age and generation must be as free to act for itself in all cases as the age and generations which preceded it.” The ideas of these two important men and the dispute over conservative versus liberal change are still evident today, in many aspects of our society. From examining the works of Burke and Paine, we can learn about when liberal change is better and when conservative change is better in today’s society.
Through the works of Edmund Burke and his conservative viewpoint, we can learn about how the drastic changes of French society during the French revolution could have been avoided. Burke also comments about the Glorious Revolution in England in his works. Generally, conservatives in today’s modern democracies believe that higher taxes slow and impede economic growth, so they tend to not believe in them as much. The conservatives feel that the tax rate should be equal for everybody. They feel that the government ...

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...created hundreds of years ago for people who were alive hundreds of years ago.
In conclude, when examining the works of Burke and Paine, we can learn about when liberal change is better and when conservative change is better in today’s society. The ideas of Thomas Paine and Edmund Burke and their dispute over conservative versus liberal change are still evident today, in many aspects of our society such as the government’s involvement in healthcare and same-sex marriage. I personally don’t think that the government has any business in healthcare, a primarily private-sector multi-million dollar business. This is a very conservative view that I have, and it is where I agree with Burke’s views on change. A topic in which I take Paine’s viewpoint on change is same-sex marriage. I think that gays and lesbians should have the right to marry in all states and countries.

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