The Sceptical Conservative

This book highlights the importance of a rediscovery of David Hume’s political thought, focusing on his ideas on the origin of government and political obedience and his vision of ideals such as liberty, property, political stability, and moderation – all topics that are a precious source of inspiration for the development of political conservatism. The author outlines the main features that characterise Hume’s conservatism. These features are counter-revolutionary: political realism; mistrust of sudden and violent innovations; scepticism toward abstractions; opposition to rationalist arrogance; respect for custom and institutional continuity; need for the preservation of stability; rejection of ideological rhetoric, sectarianism, and dogmatism; constant denial of intellectual subsidies; and defence of national interest.
Hume’s “sceptical” and “secular” conservatism is quite different from the Anglo-American conservatism that will born some decades after his death as consequence of Edmund Burke’s writings, but it is the first one to appear on the political scene of modernity.