Russell Kirk Quotes
Principle #6: Recognition that change and reform are not identical, and that innovation is a devouring conflagration more often than it is a torch of progress.
Kirk, Russell. The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Santayana. Henry Regnery Company, 1953, p. 8.
He was referring to the institutions in the particular fields. An established institution in education like a university might develop an innovation in astronomy or language translation, but not likely develop significant innovations in education. An established computer programming company might innovate the method of warehousing and shipping merchandise, but they are not likely to develop an innovative way of computer programming. That is typically done by a programming non-established firm or individual. There are a number of exceptions and this is not put forth as a general principle, but as a statistical observation. Established institutions are working harder and smarter to find ways of innovating regularly, and may succeed more frequently than the present.
Father of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher. Father of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher
The impication is that small changes are just as hard often and might be easier than large changes.
Russell Amos Kirk was an American political theorist, moralist, historian, social critic, and literary critic, known for his influence on 20th-century American conservatism. His 1953 book The Conservative Mind gave shape to the postwar conservative movement in the U.S. It traced the development of conservative thought in the Anglo-American tradition, giving special importance to the ideas of Edmund Burke. Kirk was considered the chief proponent of traditionalist conservatism. He was also an accomplished author of Gothic and ghost story fiction.
