Issue

Carlyle

Mill

Arnold

Human Nature

Calvinist--work manifests spiritual state; we must fear god and subordinate our selfish desires to his will. "Close thy Byron; open thy Goethe."

Humboldtian, organic, humanistic: human nature grows, develops like a tree; the individual's desires must be both satisfied and cultivated. German term, Bildung, complex process of education, applies here.

Humboldtian, organic: human nature grows, develops like a tree. See Mill.

Societal Goal

to organize capitalist production and distribute consumer goods fairly; to instill sense of reciprocal responsibility in capitalist and worker. Carlyle favors an hierarchical orderly society animated by a revitalized "aristocratic principle."

community of strong, cultivated, balanced individuals; maximum individual liberty consonant with protecting liberties of all. "The greatest happiness for the greatest number," in keeping with Mill's complex view of human nature. So far, middle-class values are not promoting the goal.

Orderly community of individuals dedicated to "culture"; decisions to be made without interference of petty class biases.

Individual's Goal

To work. To lead or be led wisely; to have a firm, respected place in English society. To channel desires into work that benefits society as a whole, not just the individual.

Full, harmonious development of individual's capacities. Both the intellect and the passions must be given their due.

Similar to Mill, but with greater emphasis on "disinterested" self and less emphasis on "pleasure." The aim is not so much to fulfill one's personal desires (i.e. to be happy) but to attain intellectual clarity and develop the capacity to make sense of a rapidly changing, seemingly unintelligible world.

Agency

The "captains of industry"— spiritualized capitalists who now recognize their reciprocal responsibilities to their employees.

Humboldt's "freedom and variety of situations"; also "those who stand on the higher eminences of thought—the educated, cultivated sectors of English society.

State as collective "best self," as sum of "right reason" of the community; must be above class interests in order to promote Culture and the best interests of all.

Economic/Political

Capitalism is good at producing things, but does not distribute them equitably. It needs a strong infusion of morality. Carlyle promotes semi-feudal values, but wants to superimpose them upon the new capitalist order, not go back to some earlier, agrarian way of life. Denounces the middle and upper classes for believing that it is "impossible" to change anything.

Free-market capitalism maximizing individual choices, though Mill's position on capitalism varies.

Arnold does not—at least in our selection—speak directly on economic matters. His discussion of class might be carried back to material analysis, but he tends to discuss economic and political affairs in rather abstract terms.

The Enemy

Laissez-faire ideology—i.e. unrestrained free-market capitalism and its absolute laws: competition, supply and demand, and selfish homo oeconomicus as the model citizen.

Dull conformity settling in with the middle class' rise to political, economic, social power: fashion, journalism, the press are turning out robots programmed to say, "me, too."

Petty class interests of Barbarians, Philistines, and Populace blind all three classes to one another's reciprocal best interests. England does not have enough "light"—it does not sufficiently appreciate the role of ideas in progress, and so does not encourage its citizens to "know the best that has been said and thought" or to "see the object as in itself it really is."

As Prophet

A true Victorian prophet after the manner of the Old Testament Jeremia. Gives stern warnings, yet offers hope for the future. Adopts ironic, "quack German professor" stance as writer because he wants to distance himself from romantic predecessors and because, perhaps, his middle-class audience needs to be mollified and warmed up to the unpalatable solutions Carlyle serves up.

Mill is no Thomas Carlyle; his style is calmer, more objective.

The critic replaces the poet as prophet; but the critic can only help society in the long run, not directly or immediately. Intellectual "trickle-down."