This study examines the issue of British conservatism in the early 19th century. The author first evaluates the role of the founding figure of British conservatism Edmund Burke, his thinking and influence on the tradition of Conservative political thought and in realpolitik in Britain from the end of the 18th century and in the first half of the following century. This topic is set within the context of British foreign and domestic policy.
This study deals with the question of responses to the work of the founder and leading representative of British conservative thought Edmund Burke. It focuses in particular on political theorists who have not only considered Burke's work but have also managed to view their responses to it within the continuity of a tradition stretching back to the beginnings of political thought with Plato, Aristotle and Aquinas. The author therefore concentrates on figures such as Leo Strauss, Harvey C. Mansfield and Alasdair MacIntyre.