The origins of liberal conservatism: Edmund Burke, Adam Smith, and the art of coping with a complex society by Laurence Joseph Caromba A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree MA in Political Science in the Department of Political Sciences at the UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA FACULTY OF HUMANITIES SUPERVISOR: Dr Gerhard Wolmarans November, 2012 ©© UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff PPrreettoorriiaa DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY Full name of student: Laurence Joseph Caromba Student number: 24282163 Declaration: 1. I understand what plagiarism is and I am aware of the University’s policy in this regard. 2. I declare that this dissertation is my own original work. Where other people’s work has been used (either from a printed source, Internet or other source), this has been properly acknowledged and referenced in accordance with departmental requirements. 3. I have not used work previously produced by another student or any other person to hand in as my own. 4. I have not allowed, and will not allow, anyone to copy my work, with the intention of passing it off as his or her own work. Signature of student: Date: 26 November, 2012 Signature of supervisor: Date: 26 November, 2001 i ABSTRACT This study compares and contrasts the writings of Edmund Burke and Adam Smith, to determine whether they are contradictory, compatible, or complementary. Burke can be regarded as the founder of modern conservatism, and Smith is an early and powerful advocate of market-orientated liberalism. Today, their ideas have been blended into a system of “liberal conservatism” that serves as the unofficial political ideology of most right-of- centre parties throughout the English-speaking world. However, it is not so immediately apparent that Smith and Burke can be reconciled with each other. In the course of this study, Burke and Smith’s ideas are considered at various levels of abstraction. They share a nuanced view of human beings as complex, social, sympathetic and self-interested. They both adhere to an empiricist epistemology that is distrustful of deductive rationality, especially when applied to complex human societies. In order to cope with this complexity, Burke and Smith alike counsel humility and pragmatism, and emphasise the importance of contingency. Furthermore, they suggest that policymakers rely on mechanisms that reveal information held by large numbers of individuals: tradition in the case of Burke, and the market mechanism in the case of Smith. Burke is a staunch opponent of arbitrary power, and an advocate of colonial liberty. However, he defends the prescriptive powers of the state, and argues that liberty should be tempered by self-restraint. Smith advocates a “system of natural liberty” in economic affairs, but acknowledges that such a system takes place within the framework of a coercive state. In terms of policy, Burke and Smith share similar views on external free trade and laissez-faire within the domestic economy, but there are important stylistic and substantive differences in their views on the relief of the poor. Ultimately, this study argues that Burke and Smith’s complementary policymaking framework, rather than their actual views on policy, is the true point of convergence between them. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr Gerhard Wolmarans, for the advice and insight he has given me throughout this project; My colleagues at the University of Pretoria, for the stimulating discussions that are an endless source of new and interesting ideas; My friends, for their support, their patience, and their invaluable companionship; Kylie, for helping me to stay motivated, and for the immense amount of editing work that she undertook without complaint; And finally, my parents, for their empathy and understanding throughout this project, and for introducing me to complex ideas about politics and economics when I was very young. I would not have been able to complete this project without them. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Adam Smith: CAS – The Correspondence of Adam Smith HLM – History of Ancient Logics and Metaphysics HOA – The History of Astronomy OES – Of The External Senses TMS – The Theory of Moral Sentiments WN1 – The Wealth of Nations, Vol. 1 WN2 – The Wealth of Nations, Vol. 2 Edmund Burke: ANW – An Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs CEB – The Correspondence of Edmund Burke LCD – Letter to Charles-Jean-François Depont LMN – Letter to a Member of the National Assembly LRP – Letters on a Regicide Peace LSB – Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol OSN – Observations on the Present State of the Nation RPA – Remarks on the Policy of the Allies With Respect to France RRF – Reflections on the Revolution in France SB – Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful SCA – Speech on Conciliation with America SDP – Speech on A Bill For Shortening the Duration of Parliaments SFI – Speech on Fox’s East India Bill SEB – Speech to the Electors of Bristol SER – Speech on the Economical Reform SRP – Speech on the Reform of the Representation of the Commons In Parliament SPU – Speech on the Petition of the Unitarians SWH – Speech In The Impeachment of Warren Hastings iv TDS – Thoughts and Details on Scarcity TFA – Thoughts on French Affairs TPD – Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents TP – Tracts on the Popery Laws A note on primary sources: Many of the in-text references in this study refer to primary sources written by Adam Smith and Edmund Burke. In order to make it easier for the reader to keep track of which sources are referenced in the text, I have chosen to reference all primary sources using abbreviations. In addition to the list of abbreviations in this section, full bibliographic details for each of these sources can be found in the bibliography. In the majority of cases, I have used electronic versions of the works of Smith and Burke provided by the Online Library of Liberty (OLL) in Indianapolis, Indiana. Where this is the case, I have indicated it in the bibliography. The electronic editions are paginated files in Adobe Acrobat format, and can be downloaded from the OLL’s website. In the case of Adam Smith, these electronic editions are derived from the Glasgow Edition of his works, which is widely considered to be the fullest and most complete compilation of Smith’s writings. By making these original texts freely available in a format that can be searched, cross-referenced and copied, the OLL has performed an invaluable service for students of political theory. In cases where the electronic editions are used, all in-text page references refer to the electronic edition and not the printed edition. The electronic editions of primary sources written by Edmund Burke that are used in this study are no longer under copyright and are in the public domain. The Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith and the associated volumes are published in hardcover by Oxford University Press. The online edition is published by Liberty Fund under license from Oxford University Press. Electronic editions of primary sources can be downloaded from the OLL at its web address: http://oll.libertyfund.org/ v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: “The Only Man I Ever Knew” Introduction 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Research Problem 3 1.3 Research Methodology & Literature Review 5 1.4 Research Design 8 Chapter 2: “The Most Hardened Violator of the Laws” Smith and Burke on Human Nature 2.1 Introduction 11 2.2 The Origin of Moral Sentiments 12 2.3 Self-Interest, Proximity & the Limits of Sympathy 15 2.4 Burke’s Views on Sympathy 19 2.5 Are People Good or Bad? 21 2.6 Moral Reasoning versus Moral Sentiments 23 2.7 Conclusion 26 Chapter 3: “The Languid and Precarious Operation of Reason” Burke and Smith’s Empiricist Epistemology 3.1 Introduction 28 3.2 Burke’s Empiricist Epistemology 29 3.3 Adam Smith’s Theory of Knowledge 33 3.4 Burke on Social Complexity 39 3.5 Adam Smith and the Complex Economy 43 3.6 Conclusion 47 vi Chapter 4: “A Fixed Rule and an Occasional Deviation” Coping with the Complex Society (Part I) 4.1 Introduction 49 4.2 Burke’s View of Rationalism in Politics 49 4.3 Coping with Social Complexity 56 4.4 Tradition as an Evolutionary Mechanism 61 4.5 Conclusion 64 Chapter 5: “Led By an Invisible Hand” Coping with the Complex Society (Part II) 5.1 Introduction 66 5.2 Adam Smith and the ‘Man of System’ 66 5.3 Pragmatism & Contingency in the Wealth of Nations 68 5.4 Smith’s Dispute with the Physiocrats 73 5.5 Markets and the Problem of Information Dispersal 77 5.6 The Economy as the Product of Bottom-Up Complexity 80 5.7 Conclusion 83 Chapter 6: “A Controlling Power upon Will and Appetite” Burke and Smith on Freedom and Power (Part I) 6.1 Introduction 87 6.2 Edmund Burke’s Conception of Freedom 89 6.3 Colonial Liberty and Reform 93 6.4 Self-Restraint and the Limits of Freedom 97 6.5 Burke on Power and Prescription 102 6.6 Prescription & Individual Rights 106 6.7 Gentle Power and the Revolutionary State 108 6.8 Conclusion 111 vii Chapter 7: “Free In Our Present Sense of the Word” Burke and Smith on Freedom and Power (Part II) 7.1 Introduction 114 7.2 Adam Smith’s Simple System of Natural Liberty 115 7.3 Self-Interested Liberty in the Marketplace 117 7.4 Liberty in the Realm of Morality and Politics 120 7.5 Adam Smith and the Limits of Freedom 127 7.6 Adam Smith on Power 129 7.7 Conclusion: Burke & Smith on Freedom and Power 133 Chapter 8: “The Unrestrained Freedom of Buying and Selling” Burke and Smith on Domestic and Economic Policy 8.1 Introduction 139 8.2 Free Trade 140 8.3 Domestic Laissez-Faire 146 8.4 The Relief of the Poor 152 8.5 Conclusion 158 Chapter 9: “The Species is Wise” Conclusion 161 Bibliography 171 viii TABLE OF FIGURES Fig. 1: Abbé Sièyès proposed division of France into a series of square, geometric départements 63 ix