Reflections on the Revolution in France
Edmund Burke
Burke is warning against a kind of liberty that abandons wisdom and virtue. In 1790, as the French Revolution radically redefined freedom, Burke saw chaos masquerading as liberation. He argued that without the guiding forces of wisdom and virtue, the pursuit of liberty degenerates into folly and madness. The French leaders, in his view, were more concerned with popularity than with crafting a sustainable, just society. The consequence is a superficial freedom that enslaves rather than emancipates.