Burke and Swift on the Ethics of Revolution

Abstract

I argue that the concept of parody helps locate a subtly subversive aspect to the eighteenth-century conservatism of Burke and Swift. Examining their work in this way clarifies why these two authors, who occasionally seem to evidence radical qualities, can at the same time express a preference for more ostensibly restrained action. Because parody is a technique that preserves and recycles major aspects of the satirized object, it presents a mechanism for condensing a number of seemingly contradictory goals, deftly combining limited alterations and the appearance of reserved moderation with revolutionary aims.