It looks to me to be narrow and pedantic to apply the ordinary ideas of criminal justice to this great public contest. I do not know the method of drawing up an indictment against a whole people.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Burke argues that criminal justice methods should not apply to a whole people in a public conflict.
- In plain terms
- You cannot treat a whole people like a criminal defendant.
- What can you take from it?
- Public conflicts need different methods than criminal trials.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you judge a group?
Another view
Sometimes individuals within groups bear responsibility.
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