The Flies of Summer: A Kantian Reply to Burke

Abstract

AbstractThis paper takes up a deep objection to liberalism associated most clearly with Edmund Burke, that liberalism's tendency to rapid change from generation to generation frustrates a fundamental human desire to participate in what is unchanging. To address this criticism, I examine Kant's political theory from the 1780s and 1790s, focusing on the themes of perpetual peace, revolution, and punishment. I argue that for Kant, the liberal community is best understood as an enduring partnership for the liberation of humanity, rather than as a partnership to protect material interests or rights. Understanding Kant's liberalism in this way confronts Burke's challenge and also helps solve some difficult puzzles in Kant scholarship.