<i>Sartor Resartus</i> as reactionary political theory: Thomas Carlyle and the metaphysics of modernity

In recent years, conservatism and reactionism have witnessed a renewed surge of interest in both popular and scholarly literature. Whether conservatism represents a distinct coherent political ideology or simply a reflexive stance remains a matter of ongoing debate, as does its relationship to reactionism. This paper aims to contribute to this discussion by confirming the ideological character of conservatism and framing reactionism as a typology within conservatism. For this, I examine the intellectual genealogy of reactionary thought as it crystallises in Thomas Carlyle's Sartor Resartus . I propose that Sartor serves as a foundational text for understanding the philosophical basis of reactionary political theory and its relationship to conservatism, offering an evaluative stance on the proper ordering of society that extends beyond nostalgia. By foregrounding the political nature of Carlyle's social vision and his critical stance towards the metaphysical premises of modernity, this paper also contributes to Carlyle scholarship by refining Carlyle's political categorisation and contesting the view that his later political writings represent a rupture with his earlier work, proposing instead that Sartor lays the philosophical foundations for his later reactionism.