Thomas Carlyle is notable both for his continuation of older traditions of the Tory satirists of the 18th century in England and for forging a new tradition of Victorian era criticism of progress known as sage writing.
Sartor Resartus can be seen both as an extension of the chaotic, sceptical satires of Jonathan Swift and Laurence Sterne and as an enunciation of a new point of view on values.

Carlyle is also important for helping to introduce German Romantic literature to Britain.
Although Samuel Taylor Coleridge had also been a proponent of Schiller, Carlyle's efforts on behalf of Schiller and Goethe would bear fruit.

The reputation of Carlyle's early work remained high during the 19th century but declined in the 20th century.
George Orwell called him "a master of belittlement.
Even at his emptiest sneer (as when he said that Whitman thought he was a big man because he lived in a big country) the victim does seem to shrink a little.
That [...] is the power of the orator, the man of phrases and adjectives, turned to a base use."
However, Whitman himself described Carlyle as lighting "up our Nineteenth Century with the light of a powerful, penetrating and perfectly honest intellect of the first-class" and "Never had political progressivism a foe it could more heartily respect".

Carlyle's attacks on the ills of industrialisation and on classical economics were an important inspiration for U.S. progressives.
In particular, Carlyle criticised JS Mill's economic ideas for supporting Black Emancipation by arguing that Blacks' socio-economic status depended on economic opportunities rather than heredity.
Carlyle's racist justification for economic statism evolved into the elitist and eugenicist "intelligent social engineering" promoted early on by the progressive American Economic Association.

His reputation in Germany was always high, because of his promotion of German thought and his biography of Frederick the Great.
Friedrich Nietzsche, whose ideas are comparable to Carlyle's in some respects, was dismissive of his moralism, calling him an "absurd muddlehead" in Beyond Good and Evil and regarded him as a thinker who failed to free himself from the very petty-mindedness he professed to condemn.
Carlyle's distaste for democracy and his belief in charismatic leadership was appealing to Joseph Goebbels, who frequently referenced Carlyle's work in his journal, and read his biography of Frederick the Great to Hitler during his last days in 1945.
Many critics in the 20th century identified Carlyle as an influence on fascism and Nazism.
Ernst Cassirer argued in The Myth of the State that Carlyle's hero-worship contributed to 20th-century ideas of political leadership that became part of fascist political ideology.
Further evidence for this argument can be found in letters sent by Carlyle to Paul de Lagarde, one of the early proponents of the Fuehrer principle.

Sartor Resartus has recently been recognized once more as a remarkable and significant work, arguably anticipating many major philosophical and cultural developments, from Existentialism to Postmodernism.
It has been argued that his critique of ideological formulas in The French Revolution provides a good account of the ways in which revolutionary cultures turn into repressive dogmatism.

Essentially a Romantic, Carlyle attempted to reconcile Romantic affirmations of feeling and freedom with respect for historical and political fact.
Many believe that he was always more attracted to the idea of heroic struggle itself than to any specific goal for which the struggle was being made.
However, Carlyle's belief in the continued use to humanity of the Hero, or Great Man, is stated succinctly at the end of his essay on Muhammad (in On Heroes, Hero-Worship & the Heroic in History), in which he concludes that: "the Great Man was always as lightning out of Heaven; the rest of men waited for him like fuel, and then they too would flame."

A bust of Carlyle is in the Hall of Heroes of the National Wallace Monument in Stirling.

The name of ONE, Inc. was derived from an aphorism by Carlyle: "
Thomas Carlyle is notable both for his continuation of older traditions of the Tory satirists of the 18th century in England and for forging a new tradition of Victorian era criticism of progress known as sage writing. Sartor Resartus can be seen both as an extension of the chaotic, sceptical satires of Jonathan Swift and Laurence Sterne and as an enunciation of a new point of view on values.
Carlyle is also important for helping to introduce German Romantic literature to Britain. Although Samuel Taylor Coleridge had also been a proponent of Schiller, Carlyle's efforts on behalf of Schiller and Goethe would bear fruit.
The reputation of Carlyle's early work remained high during the 19th century but declined in the 20th century. George Orwell called him "a master of belittlement. Even at his emptiest sneer (as when he said that Whitman thought he was a big man because he lived in a big country) the victim does seem to shrink a little. That [...] is the power of the orator, the man of phrases and adjectives, turned to a base use." However, Whitman himself described Carlyle as lighting "up our Nineteenth Century with the light of a powerful, penetrating and perfectly honest intellect of the first-class" and "Never had political progressivism a foe it could more heartily respect".
Carlyle's attacks on the ills of industrialisation and on classical economics were an important inspiration for U.S. progressives. In particular, Carlyle criticised JS Mill's economic ideas for supporting Black Emancipation by arguing that Blacks' socio-economic status depended on economic opportunities rather than heredity. Carlyle's racist justification for economic statism evolved into the elitist and eugenicist "intelligent social engineering" promoted early on by the progressive American Economic Association.
His reputation in Germany was always high, because of his promotion of German thought and his biography of Frederick the Great. Friedrich Nietzsche, whose ideas are comparable to Carlyle's in some respects, was dismissive of his moralism, calling him an "absurd muddlehead" in Beyond Good and Evil and regarded him as a thinker who failed to free himself from the very petty-mindedness he professed to condemn. Carlyle's distaste for democracy and his belief in charismatic leadership was appealing to Joseph Goebbels, who frequently referenced Carlyle's work in his journal, and read his biography of Frederick the Great to Hitler during his last days in 1945. Many critics in the 20th century identified Carlyle as an influence on fascism and Nazism. Ernst Cassirer argued in The Myth of the State that Carlyle's hero-worship contributed to 20th-century ideas of political leadership that became part of fascist political ideology. Further evidence for this argument can be found in letters sent by Carlyle to Paul de Lagarde, one of the early proponents of the Fuehrer principle.
Sartor Resartus has recently been recognized once more as a remarkable and significant work, arguably anticipating many major philosophical and cultural developments, from Existentialism to Postmodernism. It has been argued that his critique of ideological formulas in The French Revolution provides a good account of the ways in which revolutionary cultures turn into repressive dogmatism.
Essentially a Romantic, Carlyle attempted to reconcile Romantic affirmations of feeling and freedom with respect for historical and political fact. Many believe that he was always more attracted to the idea of heroic struggle itself than to any specific goal for which the struggle was being made. However, Carlyle's belief in the continued use to humanity of the Hero, or Great Man, is stated succinctly at the end of his essay on Muhammad (in On Heroes, Hero-Worship & the Heroic in History), in which he concludes that: "the Great Man was always as lightning out of Heaven; the rest of men waited for him like fuel, and then they too would flame."
A bust of Carlyle is in the Hall of Heroes of the National Wallace Monument in Stirling.
The name of ONE, Inc. was derived from an aphorism by Carlyle: "
Thomas Carlyle