Government Involvement In The Enlightenment

Government involvement is crucial in society. For a nation and its citizens to prosper, government intervention must be imposed. The source which is presented is a quote said by Jean Chretien, who was the former prime minister of Canada, claiming that an influential leader is aware of political systems and as well as, economical operations. Jean Chretien possesses a liberal ideology. He is a communist and his views are left-wing on the spectrum, as in, he claims a prominent leader should acknowledge and well understand businesses, unions and education in universities. Yes, government intervention is pivotal in political and economic prosperity, without a leader figure in the government, society falls into oppression. As observed in history,

Thinkers of that era began to challenge that power should lie among citizens, instead of being dispersed to a single sovereign state. Thinkers during The Age of Reason began to devise philosophies about the role of government and the rights of citizens. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a philosopher who derived the ‘social contract theory’ which should be held between the state and the government. Rousseau believed that government should be ruled by the citizens and their will to elect government. Another thinker, John Locke, had analogous views. Locke believed in Life, Liberty and Property; he believed man was born with natural rights that no individual or government would oppress. Instead, the government was established to protect rights of man. Another example, Charles Montesquieu’s philosophy of power division among the government was also proposed in the Age of Reason. Montesquieu was known for his theory of separation of powers in government, so “no man should be afraid of another”, as he suggested. Montesquieu philosophies concerning separation of power are utilized in modern liberalism to date. Montesquieu, Locke and Rousseau had corresponding ideologies to one another because all three Enlightenment thinkers proposed theories regarding the role of government and power. These

Before the French revolted, the citizens of France were residing in poor circumstances; there were class systems in place, there were no rights or freedoms for man and there was monarchical regime. Even, post-French Revolution, the condition for the citizens weren’t favourable because the king was executed by the Guillotine, leaving no form of government in power. Either way, the French Revolution was an era of chaos because no political or economic system was maintained and concretely established. However, one of the advantageous aspects of the French Revolution was the emergence of the Rights of Man, which was a step towards freedom of the common man, demolishment of the class system and lead to power distribution among the citizens. Therefore, as mentioned in the source, a strong leader must be fully conscious of their country’s political, economic and social systems, in order to run their nation. Without a leader’s awareness, the leader holds no control over their country, but, the control which a leader has over systems must be maintained and the power should remain in the hands of citizens so the country does not fall under a dictatorial