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Recensions I Reviews 847Edmund Burke and the Critique of Political RadicalismMichael FreemanOxford: Basil Blackwell, 1980, pp. 250This is an engaging study in which Professor Freeman offers a comprehensiveand insightful in terpreta tion of Burk e's political philosophy. The book 's thesis isas follows: Burke is the proponent of a general conservative political theoryintended as the critique-refutation of political radicalism. Freeman sees inBurk e's critique of the French Revolution the challenge to political radicalism."If political radicalism is to be rendered plausible," Freeman declares,"Burke's critique must be overcome" (14). The fierce debate betweenconservatives and radicals regarding the desirability and viability of modernrevolutions must be resolved in the theoret ical co ntext of the confrontation of itsarchetypes: the conservative Burke and the radicals of the French Revolution.Freeman's first objective is to interpret Burke's political thought bydemonstrating its significance, indeed indispensability, to our understandingand possible resolution of the conservative- radical deba te and by pointing out itsweakness and inadequacy. He correctly argues that Burke has either beencelebrated quite uncritically or has been simply underestimated (16). Freeman'ssecond objective is "to contribute to the solution of the scientific and moralproblems raised by modern revolutions" (6) the last of which the authordescribes as events of "high moral drama" (1).Free man's insistence on interpreting Burke critically but diligently and hisdesire to be equally critical of naive radicalism renders this study an im portantprolegomenon to any empirico-normative theoretical comprehension of thephenomenon of modern revolutions.The Burke that emerges from Freeman's interpretation is a coherent,complex and, of course, superbly articulate theorist. Freeman examines hismetaphysics, epistemology, sociology and political perspective. He provides apenetrating interpretation of Burke's thought which he shows to be systematicand rich, especially in its sociological dimension (social structure and causes ofrevolution). Burke 's metaphysics (Christian me taphysics), which Freeman findsinadequate, serves as the foundation for his political conservatism (19).Tensions, ambiguities and insurmountable contradictions are pointed out.Burk e's theological naturalism, his empiricism and pragmatism and his conceptof reason, all features of a divine cosmological order, are shown to be inimperfect harm ony. The status of evil, reason and practice , abstract speculationand empirical reality, certainty of knowledge, providential reason and thenecessity of revolution, human natu re, Go d's benevolence and human sufferingare central to Freeman's interpretation and to our balanced understanding(thanks to this study) of Burke's thought.Freeman stresses Burke 's insistence that religion be viewed as true and associally useful (16-18). Religion and property constitute for Burke the twinfoundations of society (64). The author argues that Burke's god issimultaneously a god of order and agod of revolutions (26). Thus Burke's bizarresituation: his relentless hostility toward the French Revolution and his inabilityto rule out that it could have been divinely ordainedan inscrutable divinemystery.Freeman suggests a degree of romanticism in Burke (74). In the finalanalysis, the Burke of this book is "a man of two worlds: the world of deferenceand discipline and the world of free thought and free enterprise. Thecontradiction between these two worlds runs through his thought. Thecontradiction is brought to the point of crisis by the French Rev olution" (150). Itmight be more accurate to see Burke as consciously seeking to enlist traditional

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848 Recensions / Reviewssocial structures in the service of the capitalist market econ omy, rather than seehim as torn between a romantic yearning for the past and a commitment to hiscontemporary social order.

Freeman concludes his study with a chapter in which he details, based onthe findings of the study as a whole, the theoretical reconstruction of theconservative-radical debate regarding revolution. It is a powerful culmination toan intriguing and challenging volume.ALMS KONTOS University of Toronto

Political Obligation in its Historical Context: Essays in Political TheoryJohn DunnCambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980, pp. x, 355John Dunn, as Alaisdair Maclntyre and Alan Ryan have stated, is the mostimportant political theorist in the English-speaking world. In this book we seeclearly why this is so. The book co nsists of eight previously published es says , anew and important chapter on political obligation and an introduction explaininghow the essays are related in various ways to political obligation; the theme hebelieves should be the centre piece of the study of politics, broadly co nceived.Dunn has written books on John Locke, modem revolutions, African politicsand the relevance of the study of our inherited political trad itions. The articles inthis collection display an equally wide range of interest and exp ertise: two are onLocke's political theory and its influence, two on the philosophy of socialscience, two on African politics, one on democratic theory, one on revolutionand one directly on obligation.To und erstand Dunn it is necessary to realize that he does not believe thatthe study of politics either really is or should be segmented into political theoryand political science. This belief will come as no surprise to those who havefollowed recent attempts to reunite the two parts of our discipline by JurgenHabermas and others. Dunn, however, has actually shown, better than anyother philosopher of social sc ience, how such a union might be achieved in hisbrilliant article on this topic in 1978, now reprinted as chapter five of this book.Not only does he offer a philosophical solution, or dissolution; his work in thehistory of political theory and in contempo rary political science and theory alsoembodies his solution in practice. The chapter on the success and failure ofmodern revolutions is perhaps the most exemplary in this respect. D unn's pointis that the explaining social sciences serve to tell us what is causally possible inthe realm of political action and what in fact people do value and believe.Political theo ry, on the o ther hand, by explicating the traditions available to us,some of which provide the norm ative framework of the explaining sciences, tellsus what people could possibly, here and now, believe and value, and thenormative implications of the causal possibilities open to us. We mightcharacter ize his approach as political science informed of the moral import of itsassumptions and conclusions and a political theory informed of the causalpossibilities for implementing its recommendations for a better political life. Hiswork thus exemplifies the closest thing we have today to Aristotle's view ofpolitical knowledge as a kind of critical practical judgment, of phronesis.It follows as a matter of course that political obligation will be the heart ofthe study and activity of politics understood in this way. For the quest will be forwhat sort of political direction we ought to strive for and respect, given what weknow is the case , and is possible, and what we know about the range of possiblefutures available to us in our normative traditions that, historically, couldpossibly be brought about by exploiting the causal properties of our political