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The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate the aesthetic strategy of the political philosophy of Edmund Burke, by considering the relation between the "artificial infinite" of the Enquiry Into our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, and the "immemorial custom" of the Reflections on the Revolution in France. The argument addresses misreadings of Burke found in recent critical theories on the "aestheticism" of "bourgeois ideology." / The thesis shows that the demotion of the sublime in favour of the beautiful which is considered by these critics to be characteristic of bourgeois aestheticism, does not happen in Burke's aesthetics. It also shows that the "naturalism" of bourgeois ideology is contradicted by the strategic artificiality of Burke's politico-aesthetic. Insofar as the ideologue seeks to resolve the contingent aspects of language and history, Burke cannot be considered an ideological thinker. Rather, Burke's political philosophy consistently fails to provide the coalescence of subjective and universal which is required for ideology. Finally, the irreconcilable contingency of Burke's view of political experience shows that his conservatism is not, as his critics would have it, static and unchanging.

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This thesis explores the political reformation of “faction” in the political thought of Montesquieu, David Hume, and Edmund Burke, three thinkers whose works span what Pierre Manent calls “an exquisite moment of liberalism.” It examines the transformation of faction from one based largely on class to one based largely on political function and argues that as the political emphasis of “party” overtook that of class, a disconnect in constitutional theory appeared between the principles formerly associated with class, such as honor, and the principles now associated with parties. This disconnect is examined by focusing on the interrelated concepts of political principle, or that which motivates and regulates men, and faction, itself divided into two types, principled and singular. This thesis further considers the role of political principle to faction in each thinker’s thought in order to demonstrate how limited domestic political conflict could sustain itself via a party system. Each thinker recognized that limited political conflict did not weaken the state but rather strengthened it, if engendered by “principled faction” cognizant of a nominal sovereign. Accordingly, it is argued that a similar understanding of “principled faction,” though focused largely on aristocratic ideas of prejudice, self-interest, and inequality, better promoted political liberty within the state and contributed to a greater acceptance of party in political thought.