Books

Sets out a philosophy of conservatism that is adaptable for the post-New Labour, post-Thatcher era, based on Edmund Burke and Michael Oakeshott, and scepticism about the ability of rationalist social engineers to achieve their stated aims without risky unintended consequences. It boils conservatism down to two principles: the knowledge principle, that society is too complex and dynamic to model with any confidence; and the change principle, that rationalist thought persistently undervalues existing institutions and practices, and overvalues abstract and potential schemes, so that change always carries a risk.