Self Help; with Illustrations of Character and Conduct

Carlyle’s ideal of the heroic worker and disdain for idleness influenced Smiles’s admiration for industrious, self-made men. However, Smiles was more optimistic and less moralistic in tone than Carlyle.

Thompson critiques the Victorian moralism of writers like Samuel Smiles, arguing that their focus on personal discipline and self-improvement masked the realities of structural inequality faced by working-class people. He sees Self-Help as part of a cultural effort to contain working-class…

Hayek’s linking of Smiles and Horatio Alger repeats a nearly universal belief, but it is completely wrong.

Franklin’s emphasis on self-discipline, thrift, and moral improvement echoes Smiles’s message. It’s a cornerstone of the self-made man tradition and offers a more personal, American voice in the same spirit.

Davies revisits the often-overlooked contributions of classical liberals who argued that a minimal yet morally grounded state is essential—not superfluous—to liberty.

For those interested in the moral psychology beneath character and conduct, Smith offers a rich framework. He shows how sympathy and judgment shape virtuous behavior—grounding Smiles’s ethic in a deeper moral philosophy.