Hobbes: Thomas Hobbes set out his ideas in a work called Leviathan.
In it, he argued
that people were naturally cruel, greedy, and selfish. If not strictly controlled, they would
fight, rob, and oppress one another. Life in the “state of nature”- without laws or other
control- would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
To escape that “brutish” life, said Hobbes, people entered into a social contract, an
agreement by which they gave up the states of nature for an organized society. Hobbes
believed that only a powerful government could ensure an orderly society. For him, such
a government was an absolute monarchy, which could impose order and compel
obedience.
Locke: John Locke had a more optimistic view of human nature. People were basically
reasonable and moral, he said. Further, they had certain natural rights, or rights that
belonged to all humans from birth. These included the right to life,liberty, and property.
In Two Treatises of Government, Locke argued that people formed governments to
protect their natural rights. The best kind of government, he said, had limited power and
was accepted by all citizens. Thus, unlike Hobbes, Locke rejected absolute monarchy.
Locke then set out a radical iea. A government, he said, has an obligation to the
people it governs. If a government fails its obligation or violates people’s natural rights,
the people have the right to overthrow that government. This right to revolution would
echo across Europe and around the world for centuries that followed.
Montesquieu: Born to wealth, Charles Louis de Secondat inherited the title of Baron de
Montesquieu. Like many other reformers, his privileged status did not keep him from
becoming a voice of democracy. His Persian Letters ridiculed the French elite. In The
Spirit of Laws, he advanced the idea of separation of powers.
Montesquieu’s belief in democracy did not mean that he considered all people
equal. For example, he held a common view of his time that men were superior to
women. However, he thought that women would make good government officials.
According to Montesquieu, women’s “weakness” would make them “gentle” rulers, thus
benefiting the people.
In the 1700’s, France saw a flowering of Enlightenment thought. An early and
influential thinker was the Baron de Montesquieu. Montesquieu studied the governments
of Europe, from Italy to England. He read all he could about ancient and medieval
Europe and learned about Chinese and Native American cultures. His sharp criticism of
absolute monarchy opened the doors for later debate.
In 1748, Montesquieu published The Spirit of Laws. In it, he discussed
governments throughout history and wrote admiringly about Britain’s limited monarchy.
Montesquieu felt that the British had protected themselves against tyranny by dividing
the various functions and powers of government among three separate branches: the
legislative, executive, and and judicial. (In fact, he misunderstood the British system,
which did not separate powers in this way). Still, he felt that the separation of powers was
the best way to protect liberty. Montesquieu also felt that each branch of government
should be able to serve as a check on the other two, an idea that we call checks and
balances.
Voltaire: Probably the most famous of the philosophes was François-Marie Arouet, who
took the name Voltaire. “My trade”, said Voltaire, “is to say what I think,” and he did so
throughout his long, controversial life. Voltaire used biting wit as a weapon to expose the
abuses of his day. He targeted corrupt officials and idle aristocrats. With his pen, he
battled inequality, injustice, and superstition. He detested the slave trade and deplored
religious prejudice.
Voltaire’s outspoken attacks offended both the French government and the
Catholic Church. He was imprisoned and forced into exile. Even as he saw his books
outlawed and even burned, he continued to defend the principle of freedom of speech.
Jean- Jacque Rousseau: The most controversial philosophe, Jean-Jacques Rousseau,
was a strange, difficult man. Coming from a poor family, he never felt comfortable in the
glittering social world of Enlightenment thinkers.
Rousseau believed that people in their natural state were basically good. This
natural innocence, he felt, was corrupted by the evils of society, especially the unequal
distribution of property. The view was later adopted by many reformers and
revolutionaries.
In 1762, Rousseau set forth his ideas about government and society in The Social
Contract. Rousseau felt that society placed too many limitations on people’s behavior. He
believed that some controls were necessary,but that they should be minimal. Additionally,
these controls should be imposed only by government that had been freely elected.
Rousseau put his faith in the “general will,” or the best conscience of the
people.The good of the community as a whole, he said, should be placed above the
individual interests. Thus, unlike many Enlightenment thinkers who put the individual
first, Rousseau felt that the individual should be subordinate to the community.
Rousseau has influenced political and social thinkers for more than 200 years.
Woven through his work is a profound hatred of all forms of political and economic
oppression. His bold ideas would help fan the flames of revolt for years to come.
Mary Wollstonecraft: Wollstonecraft was a well-known British social critic. She
accepted that a woman’s first duty was to be a good mother. At the same time, however,
she felt that a woman should be able to decide what is in her own interest and should not
be completely dependent on her husband. In 1792, Wollstonecraft published A
Vindication of the Rights of Woman. In it, she called for equal education for girls and
boys. Only education, she argued, could give women the tools they needed to participate
equally with men in public life.
