An Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs

An Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs is a pamphlet written by Edmund Burke in 1791. In this work, Burke criticizes the French Revolution and its underlying principles, particularly the doctrine of popular sovereignty. He argues that a single generation does not have the right to dismantle the established social and political order. Burke believed that governments are trustees for past and future generations, and that changes should be made gradually and with respect for tradition and inherited societal structures. He saw the abstract theories of the revolutionaries as a dangerous form of arbitrary power that could lead to dictatorship. Burke championed ordered liberty and emphasized the importance of custom, tradition, and a moral framework for governance.1