The Hard Truth of Our Times Cultivated out of the imminent societal augmentations propagated during the mid-1800s

is a novel by a man named Charles Dickens. The rise of the industrial revolution instigates fundamental questions in both morality and humanitarianism at their core. As thematically portrayed in Hard Times, Dickens fervently cautions the capitalist utilitarian governance that relies on the attributions of society as a whole for progress, while simultaneously exposing the manipulative separation between employer and employee. It is this segregation that actuates the overall degradation in both societal standing and day-to-day living conditions endured by the former. Unfortunately, to witness the implications Dickens so strongly warned, there is no need to look any farther than to our current society. Propagated by the ensuing chaos arising from a seemingly perfect utilitarian society, Dickens, rife with concern about the impending industrial revolution, deploys Hard Times in desperation. Ardent, if anything, he cautions the mechanized capitalist crave. Spring forward into our current, 21st century society and Dickens concerns could not contain more validity, especially when analyzing regions, like in the poor rural sectors of China, currently enduring the formidable conditions of the prospering clamps of capitalism while practicing Communism. To truly understand the manifested commentary surrounding Hard times one must look at the era dickens was inspired. Written in 1844, Hard Times materialized during the economic growth spurt of the industrial revolution, a period where, for the first time, society was developing readily. From the 15th to the 18th century, when the modern nation-state was being born, capitalism not only took on a commercial flavor but also developed in another special direction known as mercantilism (Capitalism, 2). The mercantilist system, like the utilitarian society of Coketown, relies on the contributions of the individual to propel and advance society as a whole. In the mercantilist era, the basic purpose of economic policy was to strengthen the nation state and to further its aims (Capitalism, 2). Consequently implementing this do-what-ever-it-takes mentality to attain even economic stability has negated humanity overall: The development of industrial capitalism had serious human costs. The early days of the Industrial Revolution were marred by appalling conditions for large numbers of workers, especially in England (Capitalism, 3). This fundamental neglect of ones individual contentment slowly spans into the separation responsible for establishing economic classes, which further segregate and isolate sectors of society. This separation engenders a vital shift in perspective. Dickens amplifies the disconnect of the industrial revolution by establishing the rigid fact-based society of Coketown, a hard working utilitarian mil-town. Now the job could define the man, but when society solely focuses on one aspect of life, such as production, is it a life really worth living? The inhabitants of Coketown, who live daily under the oppression of their government, would beg to differ: It made me think, after all, how short my life would be, and how little I could hope to do in it (Dickens, 59). Circumstantially there was no hope for Louisa as an individual; after all it is the utilitarian ideal to perpetually focus on the whole rather than the self. Ironically, however, it is the minute that form the mass, and the minute that are continuously chastised, which ensues, for the vast majority of society, a state of pure despondency. In response man serendipitously adapts an autopilot-like mind frame simply to toiling through the day. It is this mechanized outlook on humanity that Dickens so adamantly protested. Here you will find no more villains and heroes, but only

oppressors and victims, oppressing and suffering in spite of themselves, driven by huge machinery which grinds to pieces the people it should nourish and ennoble (Bernard Shaw, 2). Dickens ingeniously magnifies the glimpse of detachment attained during the rise of the industrial revolution and displays them through the situational replication entitled Hard Times; here the obvious injustices are lucid and object-able but more impressively is the pertinence Dickens acute perspective holds even against todays society. Turn to China, for example, and the unfair wages, excruciatingly lengthy hours and horrendous-at-best working conditions, render irrefutable evidence confirming Dickens worst fears. The extreme poverty faced in the vast majority of these situations and an inherent lack of local stability to promote positive community relations make them prime candidates to be violated by unscrupulous businesses intent on achieving maximum output at the lowest possible cost, regardless of the rights of workers(Palgrave, 90). The induced discrepancies, manifested through the hierarchy innate with business, accrue to define the quality of life one can experience. But shouldnt, especially in the communist governance of China, the quality of life be equal for all? With statistics like this: only 20% of Chinese suppliers comply with wage rules, while just 5% obey hour limitations (Xiang, 3), it is clear that the experience for some is exceptionally better than that of others. Unfortunately the rise of capitalism created a self-perpetuating cycle of exigency, with no end in sight China depended on money from overseas, in the form of either direct investment or orders into its factories. And the rest of the world was developing a taste for cheap Chinese products (Harney, 31). The enterprises of our making are the very same that are destroying us, yet weve habitually compensated with expansion. The rise of the industrial revolution brought with it a new standard in living; which for some became synonymous with happiness. Dickens, however, set his aims higher and saw past the materialistic binge and into the metaphysical. Questioning and rising up against civilization itself as against a disease, and declaring that it is not our disorder but our order that is horrible; (Bernard Shaw, 2). When happiness is dependent on the most finite aspects of life, such as possessions, life and the full spectrum of emotions are not experienced. Instead, the emotions that give life meaning are replaced with tangible materials making it mandatory to sustain the selfperpetuating cycle of consumption. If only we had listened to Dickens and taken the morals surrounding Hard Times to heart, maybe then our current society would be much improved.