Enlightenment Synthesis Ash.P4.T5

The valued social hierarchy and influence of those that were born into wealth and power were criticized in the Restoration era, for such values were viewed as shallow and hypocritical by Enlightenment thinkers. During the Medieval and Renaissance eras, those that were born into families that yielded great authority and riches over other citizens of the nation generally maintained that power. Royalty and clergy reigned at the top of the social hierarchy, and residing at the bottom were the workers, traders, and craftsmen. Essays, plays, novels and other literature satirized those at the apex of the hierarchy. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a writer of the Restoration era, expressed his indignant views of the most powerful citizens as he exposed their lack of care for the lower class. In his book, Of the Social Contract, Rousseau wrote, “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” Although civil liberties such as a right to “life, liberty, and property,” were emphasized by the “great thinkers” like John Locke of the Enlightenment era, Rousseau points out that man is still bound by the restrictions of the social hierarchy. Rousseau contradicts the traditional ways of ruling by stating that men must first be free; no slavery should be in existence. Only then will one be able to enter into the “Social Contract” where political authority is determined. In his novel and other writings, he satirizes the fact that the elite sustained their power over others through specific tactics focused on targeting the less powerful and maintaining the wealth and power within their own family. Also, John Locke played a key role in founding the Enlightenment movement by establishing a foundation of rationality and freedom. He believed in democratic philosophies where majority rules, not simply the few with the most power. Locke, like Rousseau, expresses his social criticism of the superficial and hypocritical values of the people born into wealth and power through his works of literature and political writings.