Even though social status, family connections, and elite social patronage was an integrated part of the society during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, it was completely abandoned by the time the Enlightenment Era eased into effect. In fact, these views were even satirized by the most influential thinkers of the time. For example, the profound writer Edward Gibbon, who wrote The History and Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, blatantly criticized the Church and satirized the power it had over the country as well as the influential connections it provided. Another group of people who criticized the society were philosophers such as Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu. These individuals came up with fundamental ideas of government based on neoclassical ideals from the ancient Greeks and Romans and pointed out flaws in the society as well as explain their version of an ideal government structure. However, the cornerstone of the era was the transfer of ideas. In this era, these criticisms were freely passed through the newly developed printing press and “coffee houses” that people could converse in. Together, the new criticisms and their means of transport created a unique era that sparked a drive to reform the society.
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