Latter-Day Pamphlets

Thomas Carlyle wrote a series of writings titled Latter-Day Pamphlets that discuss numerous social and political topics in Victorian England. The present-day topic of the first essay The Present Time is society's moral and spiritual deterioration. According to Carlyle people have lost touch with higher principles and are instead preoccupied with worldly success and individuality which has created an atmosphere of confusion and discord. The second article Model Prisons critiques the English penal system which according to Carlyle fails to rehabilitate offenders and instead makes them into jaded criminals. Carlyle analyses the shortcomings of the British government in Downing Street specifically its corruption and bureaucracy. The collection also includes writings on subjects including education slavery and the Irish Famine. Carlyle focuses on the value of morals and spirituality in society throughout the pamphlets and critiques the excesses of industrialization and capitalism. Carlyle calls for a return to old values and a more moral and spiritual approach to social and political concerns in Latter-Day Pamphlets which is essentially a criticism of Victorian society and its institutions.