Past and Present, published in 1843, is, like Chartism, an analysis of the Condition-of-England-question, though a longer one. It was, Carlyle wrote, written "at a heat" in seven weeks in early 1843. It contrasts contemporary England and its myriad social problems with the rich but ordered life of a medieval abbey and reveals his growing distrust of democracy. Towards the conclusion, Carlyle puts forth a call for "Captains of Industry," aristocrats of talent who will replace the deficient hereditary aristocratic class as the new social leaders.
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