Carlyle: Past and Present

Thomas Carlyle, a satirical writer, used his writings to try and awaken an industrial Britain to its short comings. In Past and Present, Carlyle demonstrates Britain's failures through the story of Midas. The king who wished for the power to have everything he touched to turn to gold, but quickly found that his new power prevented him from eating. Carlyle recognizes that through industrialism England "is full of wealth, of multifarious produce, supply for human want in every kind: yet England is dying of inanition (477). Carlyle sees the damage that greed is doing to the country.

"'Touch is not, ye workers, ye master-workers, ye master-idlers; none of you can touch it, no man of you shall be the better for it; this is enchanted fruit!' On poor workers such fiat falls first, in its rudest shape; but on the rich master-workers it too falls; neither can the rich master-idlers, nor the richest or highest man escape, but all are like to be brough low with it, and made "poor" enough, in the money sense or a far fataler one" (477).

Carlyle is trying to warn England against the path it has started down. England is becoming a slave to money and those who do not have money are becoming slaves to men or death. The poor are becoming poorer and being placed in workhouses. There they have become imprisoned because they cannot work in the workhouses instead they sit to themselves living upon little benevolence. They are basically waiting to die. (478). No one cares about them. They are living just to die, and the people who could spare money to assist them are too busy making more money. The upper class only cares about themselves, and look upon the poor with disdain. England has created for itself a society where people would rather turn away from the problems of others instead of assisting others. England has forgotten that once everyone were equals. Carlyle is trying to make them realize their mistakes before it is too late.