Classism And The Enlightenment

“New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common” (Locke 2). Philosopher John Locke, a key figure in the development of the natural laws of government, details here the hesitation the people of western Europe held towards new ideas that sprung up during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Collectively, these ideas and thinkers, also called philosophes, are referred to as the Enlightenment or the Age of Reason. Major ideas of this era in history stem from the mistreatment of the French lower classes in Paris, where the kings claimed to be chosen by God and therefore exploited their people for the safety of their reign (Spencer, Krauze, and Appignanesi 4). As history

Classism was a relatively long-lasting idea throughout the Enlightenment that was based upon Adam Smith’s invention of free-market capitalism, which forced the economy to turn political (Cannon). Therefore, it can be argued that the Enlightenment did not end the idea of a social hierarchy, but simply replaced it with a new form of hierarchy more connected to one’s economic standing rather than anything else. The social reforms that happened during the Age of Enlightenment were very influential towards movements later in history that involved early versions of nationalism in countries with growing stress on these hierarchies. In making the middle class stronger with nationalist movements, anti-colonial movements began throughout European empires, but the idea of classism remained in nearly every part of Europe and its colonies. A direct product of the Enlightenment’s ideas were peasant rebellions and colonial revolutions. An indirect product, contrastingly, ended up being a new system of social classism, which defined the way that governments functioned for their people even after the Enlightenment had ended (Stern). “...all of us,” author and historian Susan Banfield argues, “whether conservative or liberal, whenever we concern ourselves with the rights of women or

For the first time in the Common Era of history, even those struggling in society felt that they had a say in the course of their lives, and the new economic policies of Adam Smith played a large role in developing this freedom. As new capitalists broke from their churches, a new type of religion was formed, called Deism. Deism was a way in which the Enlightenment thinkers convinced all members of society to be free of their church and find a way to retain spirituality while still being able to protest the churches of the time and the corruption found within them. The Enlightenment argued that institutionalized religion rationalized the existence of all-powerful monarchs, and they also believed that priests implanted fear in churchgoers’ minds in order to keep a government in power (Nederman). In response, since the Enlightenment criticized the hypocrisy with which institutionalized religious facilities took control over the people of their religion, many religious groups detested the Enlightenment and its ideas of rationality (“The Enlightenment”). A large amount of blame is placed upon the Enlightenment for encouraging the formation of a much more selfish society that focused more on oneself than the society as a whole. Thinkers of the