Over the course of this series of essays, we have been exploring why it is that people object to an unequal distribution of wealth. We saw in the first essay, that the objection is not limited to concern for people living in poverty. In the next two essays, we saw that while there are related complaints about the sources of great wealth, such complaints are not well-grounded. So, what is it? Is it that wealthy people are inherently more wicked? Once again, we turn to literature to guide us. … [Read more...] about Why We Don’t Trust the Rich
Charles Dickens
A Jolly Time with Martin Chuzzlewit
If you made a list of the Best of Charles Dickens, you would almost certainly not include Martin Chuzzlewit. You would not be unusual. A sign of where this book ranks in the popular imagination: Doctor Who once met Charles Dickens and while expressing his general admiration, he did wonder what in the world Dickens was thinking when he wrote this novel. Is it really that awful? A complicated question, that. The subtitle of Martin Chuzzlewit could be A Tale of Two Novels. Well, really two … [Read more...] about A Jolly Time with Martin Chuzzlewit
The Problem of Not Being Dickens
Tom Jones is a novel. Of that there is no doubt. Depending on how you define “novel,” it may be the first “novel.” Probably not, though. For no particular reason, I define “novel” more broadly, so Robinson Crusoe get the honor. The novel (Tom Jones, not Robinson Crusoe) is divided into 18 books, and the first chapter in each book is an address from the Author to the Reader in which all sorts of asides and digressions and commentary are supplied. So, in discussing Tom Jones, it … [Read more...] about The Problem of Not Being Dickens