How did the philosophers of the Enlightenment view the relationship between government and governed?

What was the European Enlightenment?

The 17th and 18th centuries were the Age of Enlightenment in Europe. The Enlightenment grew out of the European Renaissance and Scientific Revolution. 

The European Enlightenment rejected traditional ideas about religion, governance, and society.

Enlightenment thinkers applied a scientific approach to understanding human relationships. 

While the Enlightenment started in Europe, it inspired significant historical changes worldwide.

Inspirations for the Enlightenment

The Scientific Revolution

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The focus of the Enlightenment

Enlightenment philosophers developed new ideas across fields of study. Below are three common ideas that many Enlightenment philosophers wrote about and debated.

The social contract

Social contracts are the rules society defines for itself and its people to keep society running smoothly. Social contracts lay out the rights and responsibilities of different people, groups, and institutions within a society. Each society creates a unique social contract to match its culture and history.

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) wrote that all humans live in a state of nature without rules, and he laid out a vision of a violent, dangerous, and insecure world. He argued that people come together into societies and create social contracts that limit our freedoms, providing us safety and protection. Further, he said that we authorize our governments to make decisions and agree to live by their decisions when we enter these social contracts.

The role of the individual in society

Enlightenment philosophers also grappled with the role of the individual and how best to protect their freedoms. Some Enlightenment philosophers argued that the only legitimate (correct) political system protects an individual’s rights.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) wrote that a government was only legitimate if it protected “the general will” of the people as a whole. The “general will” is in the common good or interest of the largest number of people.

Natural rights

Enlightenment philosophers generally believed that all people were born with fundamental human rights that no one or no government could take away. They called these rights “natural rights.” Various Enlightenment philosophers attempted to define the concept of natural rights.

John Locke (1632-1704) included thought, religion, and property in his list of natural rights.

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The Philosophers of the Enlightenment

The Enlightenment period produced hundreds of philosophers. Below are those best known for their ideas on the social contract, the individual, and natural rights.

John Locke (1632-1704)

John Locke wrote that 

• all people are born with ‘natural rights’: life, liberty, and property 
• governments exist to preserve those rights 
• God does not choose monarchs 
• the people should be sovereign (rule)
• the right to rule arises from the  “consent of the governed” (their permission to rule)
• consent to govern should come through actions such as voting

"The obvious answer is that rights in the state of nature are constantly exposed to the attack of others. Since every man is equal and since most men do not concern themselves with equity and justice, the enjoyment of rights in the state of nature is unsafe and insecure. Hence each man joins in society with others to preserve his life, liberty, and property."

Montesquieu (1689-1755)

Montesquieu believed that 

• government power in a single individual’s hands will be abused
• to prevent the abuse of government power, power should be separated into branches (executive, legislative, and judicial)

"Political liberty is to be found only in moderate governments; and even in these it is not always found. It is there only when there is no abuse of power...When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates [government employees], there can be no liberty. . . . Again, there is no liberty if the judiciary power be not separated from the legislative and executive…."

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1788)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau developed ideas about the “general will” and the right of people to revolt against oppressive governments. He argued that 

• society is a social contract between citizens and the government 
• governments should protect “the general will”
• The “general will” is what is best for most people
• the people can break the contract and rebel if the government does not protect their rights (a revolution)

"From whatever side we approach our principle, we reach the same conclusion, that the social compact [contract] sets up among the citizens an equality of such a kind, that they all bind themselves to observe the same conditions and should therefore all enjoy the same rights. "

Voltaire (1694-1778)

Voltaire further developed right about fundamental human rights. He thought that 

• freedom of thought, expression, and religion are fundamental natural rights 
• separation of church and state protects fundamental rights

"From whatever side we approach our principle, we reach the same conclusion, that the social compact [contract] sets up among the citizens an equality of such a kind, that they all bind themselves to observe the same conditions and should therefore all enjoy the same rights. "

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)

Mary Wollstonecraft wrote about rights for women. Her writings expressed her belief that

• women’s first duty is to be a good mother 
• women should be able to decide what is best for themselves
• women should not be entirely dependent on their husbands 
• equal education for boys and girls leads to healthier societies

Video: The Enlightenment Philosophers

The Effects of the Enlightenment

The Enlightenment radically reshaped aspects of western society. In the decades following the Enlightenment, revolutions swept across Europe and the Americas. These revolutions challenged European colonial power in the Americas, absolute monarchy and kings’ divine right in Europe, male patriarchal control, and white supremacy.

European monarchs' power declines

Early republican and democratic systems begin in Europe and the Americas

Movements of nationalism result in poltical revolutions

Women begin the struggle for suffrage

The struggle for the abolition of slavery and black civil rights

The Industrial Revolution

Video: Mr. Heimler on the Enlightenment

The expansion of Enlightenment rights

Expansion of rights from Enlightenment ideas initially went to wealthy white men in the western world’s racist and patriarchal society. However, as the 19th century progressed, more groups began to use Enlightenment thinkers’ language to advocate for change. Women in the 19th century increasingly demanded political and social rights equal to men. The Enlightenment influenced slavery abolitionists in the 18th and 19th centuries. Abolitionists argued that the slave system was a violation of natural rights.

How did the Enlightenment thinkers view the role of government?

How did the Enlightenment change ideas of how governments and rulers should rule?

What did Enlightenment thinkers believe that contributed to changes in relationships between citizens and governments?

What was the relationship between the Enlightenment and the political revolutions of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries?