Ian+&+Cooper

Ian & Cooper


 * Privilege and Power: A General Look in the Enlightenment**

The issues of privilege and power are subjects that can still cause uproar even today, but in the time of the Enlightenment, having a position of power or living a privileged existence carried even more weight and influence with one's country, government, and people. Social inequality plagued these times, in terms of race and religion, but at times even more so in social class, job or rank, and economic position. Much of the wealth in countries like France and England was held by aristocratic families in governmental or higher class positions, often through tradition and birth, giving some, such as new Enlightenment thinkers, the beginnings of really wondering why these upper class people are in their position, why the educated members of the masses do not rise up often. The French populace of the time contained three estates of social class: The First Estate, consisting of the nobility, The Second Estate, consisting of the clergy, and the Third Estate, encompassing all the lower people in positions, around 95% of the population. Smart, new thinkers found themselves unable to rise to high political positions because they didn't have a special name attached to them, and the Third Estate found itself paying taxes and doing labor that the Second and First did not have, prompting the more outspoken to express their outrage, through speech or literature. The extravagant living of the throne, the First, and the Second estates upset many, as they viewed the upper class as lazy, incompetent, or unwilling to serve the country they represented, the country that was knee-deep in debt and spiraling towards another revolution. Now, this is not to say that those in power did not make great contributions to the Enlightenment. In fact, many of these new thinkers were a part of the aristocracy or funded in their studies by it, they just tended to take note of the inequality of the classes. For more general information on the Enlightenment, (specifically in France), feel free to follow this link > []


 * Privilege and Power: Opinions and Thoughts of Enlightenment Philisophes**

Many philisophes and thinkers of this time rose to prominence, and surely even more people than them had some thoughts on those in power in their country. One such thinker was that of Voltaire, a prominent and outspoken figure of the time. A great writer of the time, he used his skills to speak for social reform and what he found to be a class system of injustice. One of the main subjects he took issue with at the time was the idea of the divine right of kings, seeing it as a device used to flimsily explain an what he, and others as well, perceived as an unjust practice. He spoke out against the judicial system of the time, passing judgment on only the judge's decisions, having different laws and punishments in different areas, rulings and laws being prone to tampering such as bribery, and torture as a means of punishment or information/confession gathering, all often derived from a wealthier, higher class clientele. For more information on Voltaire and the enlightenment, follow this site > []