Now Mr. Chwe argues, absurdly, that in the early 19th Century Austen was laying the philosophical groundwork for a new theory of strategic action.

FORBES: Jane Austen, Game Theorist?

Had he lived, his theory of collective action might well have won him a Nobel prize in economics, though not a wholly uncontroversial one.

ECONOMIST: Mancur Olson | The

With Hard Times (1854) - a critique of the political theory of utilitarianism which holds that the proper course of action is the one that seeks the greatest good for the greatest number of people - Dickens set himself against thinkers like Jeremy Bentham, Thomas Malthus and Adam Smith and their influence on government policy.

BBC: Charles Dickens