The Radicalism of Charles Dickens
In his literary works, Charles Dickens told the story of a society blighted by inequality — and the cruelty of a ruling class which kept so many living in grinding poverty.
Charles Dickens was known for his reforming zeal — he had faith in the people governed rather than the people governing. (Wikimedia Commons)
What would Charles Dickens have made of Britain today? For all the differences, he would have been only too familiar with the shameless piling up of wealth, the poor struggling to survive, the penny pinching of welfare, and the lofty contempt of our rulers.
In his day, Dickens was known for his reforming zeal – one of his novels was accused of “sullen socialism.” He was none too keen on the aristocratic coterie that ran Britain. He had faith, as he put it, in the people governed rather than the people governing.
He loathed society’s treatment of children and particularly the way in which education turned young minds into little fact-filled pitchers. If he was more than the jolly inventor of the Christmas spirit, what kind of radical was Dickens?
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