The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Right and Left

Name: The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Right and Left
Rating: 4 (3 reviews)

Yuval Levin

Dec 2013 · Sold by Basic Books

3 reviews

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An acclaimed portrait of Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the origins of modern conservatism and liberalism.

"Clever and intellectually persuasive ... A thoughtful introduction to this famous paradigmatic opposition.” -Washington Post

In The Great Debate, Yuval Levin explores the roots of the left/right political divide in America by examining the views of the men who best represented each side at its origin: Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine.

Striving to forge a new political path in the tumultuous age of the American and French revolutions, these two ideological titans sparred over moral and philosophical questions about the nature of political life and the best approach to social change: radical and swift, or gradual and incremental. The division they articulated continues to shape our political life today.

Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the basis of our political order and Washington's acrimonious rifts today, The Great Debate offers a profound examination of what conservatism, progressivism, and the debate between them truly amount to.

An acclaimed portrait of Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the origins of modern conservatism and liberalism. "Clever and intellectually persuasive ... A thoughtful introduction to this famous paradigmatic opposition.” -Washington Post In The Great Debate, Yuval Levin explores the roots of the left...

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3 reviews

About the author

Yuval Levin is director of social, cultural, and constitutional studies at the American Enterprise Institute. The founder and editor of National Affairs, he is a senior editor at the New Atlantis, contributing editor at National Review, and contributing opinion writer at the New York Times. His other books include The Fractured Republic and American Covenant. He lives in Maryland.

Yuval Levin is director of social, cultural, and constitutional studies at the American Enterprise Institute. The founder and editor of National Affairs, he is a senior editor at the New Atlantis, contributing editor at National Review, and contributing opinion writer at the New York Times. His o...

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