Edmund Burke's Glorious Revolution

Edmund Burke, a British political theorist known for his conservatism, claims that England’s preference for restoration over revolution makes the Glorious Revolution more legitimate than the French Revolution. To substantiate this, Burke quips, “We are not the converts of Rousseau…” to hastily dismiss the French philosophe based on his theoretical influence on the French Revolution (75). It is important to note that Rousseau's theoretical support for revolution doesn't mean that he is categorically in favor of popular revolutions, nor does Burke's caution to endorse revolution make him entirely opposed to change. While Burke and Rousseau fervently disagree on what constitutes legitimate government and the conditions under which revolution is

It is a provisional form that gives it the administration, until the populace is pleased to order it otherwise” means the citizens, not the elites, have the power to shape the government in accordance with the general will (222-223). Part of that power is the right to reformation if the current government is not pleasing to them. Without context, this quote seems to imply that governments can and should be reformed whenever there is a dissatisfactory element, and, by extension, revolution, a fast-paced, more-radical, less-diplomatic form of reformation, is permissible to Rousseau if the government doesn’t meet the needs of the people. However in the context of his larger work, Rousseau’s next paragraph, situated within a chapter titled “The Means of Preventing Usurpations of the Government,” introduces the idea that revolution must occur under unusual circumstances, and still warrants moderation, explaining that “...the established government should never be touched except when it becomes incompatible with the public good” (223). This demonstrates that Rousseau isn’t categorically pro-revolution and against the oppression of minority groups, as the revolution must still be supported by the general will to establish itself as more legitimate than the rule of force. Rousseau’s hesitation to endorse popular revolution demonstrates the limitations of his support of revolution: if the general will does not tend toward revolution, then the revolution is