The Eclipse of Transcendence in Dickens? Hard Times.

Martha Nussbaum has offered a compelling philosophical interpretation of Dickens? Hard Times, in which she argues that Dickens? novel identifies and critiques four key aspects of utilitarian political and economic thought: commensurability, aggregation, maximizing, and exogenous preferences. This paper reviews Nussbaum?s reading of the novel and then returns to the novel through a lens shaped by the concerns of Eric Voegelin. Voegelin?s account of the modern historical movements, of which utilitarianism is a part, sheds new light on the novel. From a Voegelinian viewpoint, Dickens? use of Judeo-Christian language and symbolism throughout the novel is key to the novel?s critique of the utilitarian movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]