tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8851395.post573844917572153671..comments2023-09-09T11:56:04.929-07:00Comments on Pascal Fervor: A Progressive RantPascalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00303025432356543062noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8851395.post-11216159617600739502007-09-07T14:47:00.000-07:002007-09-07T14:47:00.000-07:00"To innovate is not to reform."---Edmund BurkeThe ..."To innovate is not to reform."<BR/>---Edmund Burke<BR/><BR/>The central point, in my view, is one's philosophy about human nature. If it is perfectable, then "progress" in a real sense is possible.<BR/><BR/>If it's fairly constant, then the best we can do is manage the chaos of conflicting interests. (Which was Madison's theory of the constitution---to set all the interests against each other to achieve equilibrium.)<BR/><BR/>As devil's advocate on this, I can't make the case---even as a conservative---that conservatism is, should, or can be progressive. If we may tap Burke here again, "A nation without the means of reform is without the means of survival," I can say that I'm able to believe in reform far more than progress, and myself would prefer such an appellation.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8851395.post-23025797109658185992007-09-06T04:38:00.000-07:002007-09-06T04:38:00.000-07:00Nicely put. And yes, we might want to keep the bat...Nicely put. And yes, we might want to keep the bats at hand.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com