Utilitariansim and Dickens' Hard Times What is utilitarianism and who embodies it in this novel? What other aspects of English society is Dickens criticizing?

Hard Times offers a critique of the Utilitarian ideology from a romantic perspective. Hard Times demonstrates that one cannot reason oneself to happiness, but that relying solely on the faculties of the mind will not fulfill the complexities of the human being. John Stuart Mills, in his paper Utilitarianism proposed the philosophy is "not something to be contradistinguished from pleasure, but pleasure itself, together with exemption from pain; and instead of opposing the useful to …

…losing touch with humanity by suppressing imagination and emotion and allowing social inequality to persist, despite the technologically modernizing society. Hard Times does a beautiful job of embodying exactly what Dickens is afraid utilitarianism will destroy, an imaginative, rich invention. The book contrasts an enjoyable piece of literature against the severity of the politics discussed within the story. Citations Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. Modern Library. 2001. Mills, John Stuart. Utilitarianism. http://www.utilitarianism.com/mill2.htm.