Hard Times

Hard Times is the tenth novel by Charles Dickens. The book appraises English society and is aimed at highlighting the social and economic pressures of the times. Hard Times is unusual in several respects. It is by far shortest of Dickens' novels, barely a quarter of length of those written before and after it. The Utilitarians were one of the targets of this novel. Utilitarianism was a prevalent school of thought during this period, its founders being Jeremy Bentham and James Mill, father to political theorist John Stuart Mill. Theoretical Utilitarian ethics hold that promotion of general social welfare is the ultimate goal for individual and society in general: "the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people." Dickens believed that in practical terms, the pursuit of a totally rationalized society could lead to great misery. Dickens was appalled by what was, in his interpretation, a selfish philosophy of materialist laissez-faire capitalism including exploitation of children..