The Government During the Age of Absolutism and the Enlightenment

Later social philosophe, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, believed that people are naturally good, but due to society, they become bad. In later years, Rousseau put all of his ideas and thoughts into The Social Contract. In this work, Rousseau states that society and government limit people’s behavior too much that in the end it creates a negative. He believed that people need some rules to act as guidelines and such, and that these rules should only be passed by freely elected governments to enable everyone’s

Absolutism started in the seventeenth century. The absolute monarchs main goal was to control every aspect of society. Usually the absolute monarchs ruled without any limitations to their authority. The most effective form of government in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is absolutism because men are selfish, the kings and princes were chosen by god, and the king has certain rights that no other person has.

England’s lengthy history of hereditary monarchs and abusive absolutists has led to the system of constitutionalism in 17th century English government. The encouragement of these absolutism practices triggered the need to search for a new way to govern. The reigns of the Stuart monarchy led to the shift from absolutism to constitutionalism during 17th century England. After witnessing the success of Louis XIV's of France establishment of absolutism, England would soon see that James I, and his son Charles I, will fail at establishing absolutism in England and see a constitutional government established.

Hobbes suggests that Absolutism is the best solution to the problem because a single absolute ruler would set things right for the people who are not capable of keeping their power within their limits. On the other hand, Locke’s suggests a constitutional monarchy because that is the best way the people would be given justice. According to him all men are equal and given one person all the power to make laws is not right. He suggests that there should be a government that can govern the problems of the people. Bossuet has a totally different and religious view about the king.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (born 1712) was a philosopher whose beliefs were that humans, in a natural, primitive state without the influence of any societies, are good beings. People’s “uncorrupted morals” are not washed away when they are without societies. Rousseau also believed that a society is what corrupts a human. He believed “ownership” of land or property is a lie, because the products of Earth are for all humans to share, saying:

Absolutist French Monarchs and the English Parliament were two different political styles implemented by two different countries in early modern Europe. Each government style was different and the success it also varied. The French and English both had at least partial success, and accomplished this with two very different ruling styles The English chose to govern through a style known as monarchy. This system gave everyone a say in the government.

John Locke presenting many ideas relating to Government, one strong belief he possessed was the fact that a good democratic Government had to exist through the permission of the people being ruled. Seeing that people are born natural free and have control over their political and social state of mind, they had to surrender some of their rights to the government for that government

During the eighteenth century, the absolutist principles of the previous century combined with the ideals of the Enlightenment, creating a new type of monarchy: enlightened absolutism. The absolutist rulers of the seventeenth century, such as Louis XIV, had total authority over their states. Many believed that they had received their power from God, a concept known as divine-right monarchy. The eighteenth century brought many changes through the Enlightenment, an intellectual movement that influenced politics, economics, and religion. The great intellectuals of the Enlightenment – the philosophes – offered radical new ideas, such as Montesquieu’s political system of checks and balances to separate power; Voltaire’s religious tolerance and

In many civilizations throughout history the responsibility of governing has fallen on a variety of governing bodies from kings to presidents to parliaments. What many of these governments lacked was a focus on God and his plan for governing. During the period known as the ‘Age of Absolutism’ (1650-1776), a great struggle waged throughout Europe between the pursuit to see monarchs rise to power, as in France, and those who sought to make a shift toward representative government, as in England. Those who believed in a king's absolute power and divine right to rule were crucial to France's development of absolutism, while innovators like John Locke steered England away from this tendency and toward representative government.

In the course of the 18th century, an innovative mindset known as the Enlightenment spread throughout Europe. Followers and supports of this movement questioned the traditional social and political practices common of the time. Although the Enlightenment gained its momentum among the working class, it soon spread to the nobility of European states. Acceptance of Enlightenment rationalism and the adaption of such policies into political movements by rulers became known as enlightened absolutism. Former Russian historian and professor at Columbia University Marc Raeff claimed “The very contradiction inherent in the notion of enlightened absolutism doomed the effort to failure” (1221). The concept of royalty striving for what was best for those whom they ruled is certainly a puzzling factor but it did not doom the notion to failure. For rulers to alleviate personal power and submit it to his or her own subjects was an action that went against the traditional ways of life. The late 18th century ruler of Prussia, Frederick II is an exemplary ruler in regards to enlightened absolutism. FINISH!!

After the French Revolution, the nation of France wanted to take on a different type of governing. There were those who wanted to go back to the feudal system that was in place before and those who wanted a limited monarchy with a constitution. Edmund Burke and Emmanuel Sieyés were writers who had strong opinions on the both sides of the scale. Sieyés believed in the Third Estate, and believed that they could run a better nation, where as Burke said that the nobility or the Second Estate was the only people that could do that job. But as we can see Sieyés view was the one that thrived in the end.

It all began with the enlightenment of absolutism, a time period where leaders shared power with people which gave people more freedom and strengthed power of leaders. During the 18th century philosophers, as a result of enlightened absolutisn began to question ways to improve the society. Thinkers believed that enlightened absolutism was inconsitent with the society. The age of enlightenment was a time of new ideas, that disagreed with common beliefs. As thinkers found ways to improve the society they were dependent on reason and naturals laws. They believed if they used natural laws they could discover patterns in nature which can apply human activities like government and economics. Most philospherd wanted to shift their society with more

believed in separation of power and that there should be 3 branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial (checks and balances)

The Enlightenment had major impacts on government reform, and Enlightenment ideas began to influence how an absolute monarchy was structured. Prior to the Enlightenment’s influence, absolute monarchy was a form of government that acted upon no specific guideline nor purpose, and all policies were geared toward a single ruler’s individual needs rather than for the benefit of the majority of the people. Enlightened Despotism, an improved form from absolute monarchy, was a government system where monarchs and rulers pushed for and passed reforms that benefited the common good. Reforms included the promotion of education for all classes and freedom of religion, speech, and the right to own individual property. Monarchs were inspired by Enlightenment ideas to be more effective and just rulers by looking after their people.

During the 18th century, a group of philosophers also known as philosophes had come up with reasons on why the common people were allowed to speak up to the absolute ruler. There were many philosophers during this Age of Enlightenment but a few of them here John Locke, Adam Smith, and Voltaire. These three philosophers had emerged with philosophies and a few of them was that was no legitimate government under kings with divine right, another is that there should be not one or two religions in a government but multiple, and that man (women as well) should be allowed to pursue his own interests.