French Enlightenment 115Much of Western “freedom of the press” and academic
freedom is premised in this Millian perspective.
For Marxist COMMUNISTthought, “bourgeois” CAPI-
TALISTfreedom is an illusion that enslaves the working
class and trivializes true human liberty. Only in com-
munism will the individual be truly free from ALIEN-
ATION, meaningless labor, and oppression. The
temporary tyranny of the “dictatorship of the prole-
tariat” is worth this ultimate heaven of communist
society.
EXISTENTIALISM asserts the necessity of individual
freedom in a meaningless universe and the personal
responsibility to make meaning out of one’s life.
In contemporary political thought, LIBERTARIANthe-
orists argue for absolute freedom of the individual
from government taxation and laws to protect the citi-
zen from himself (such as the “victimless crimes” of
drug use, prostitution, and suicide). For Libertarians,
such as Robert NOZICK, the state should not tax some
(wealthy) people to aid other (poor) ones or protect
individuals from themselves. Earlier, SOCIAL DARWINISM
made a similar argument that the weak and foolish
should be free to destroy themselves, die out, and
leave the strong and clever to survive and succeed.
Freedom will remain a prominent topic for political
discussion and debate because it touches the very
essence of human nature.Further Readings
Berlin, I. “Two Concepts of Liberty.” In Four Essays on Liberty.
London: Oxford University Press, 1969.
Gray, J., and Pelczynski, Z., eds. Conceptions of Liberty in Politi-
cal Philosophy.New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1984.
Rawls, J. A Theory of Justice.Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of
Harvard University Press, 1972.
Ryan, A., ed. The Idea of Freedom.Oxford, Eng.: Oxford Univer-
sity Press, 1979.French Enlightenment
An intellectual movement in France from roughly
1715 to 1789 that advocated REPUBLICANISM, human
EQUALITY, reason as the true source of knowledge,
social progress through science and education, and
optimism over human improvement and perfection.
Like the ENLIGHTENMENTgenerally, the French variant
was critical of political ABSOLUTISM(MONARCHY), tradi-
tional religion (especially CATHOLIC CHRISTIANITY),
social HIERARCHY(MEDIEVALclass system) and economic
monopoly, luxury, and decadence. The leading
thinkers of this French Enlightenment included
VOLTAIRE, ROUSSEAU, MONTESQUIEU, DIDEROT, and CON-
DORCET (sometimes referred to as the philosophes).
They produced an Encyclopédia,which embodied their
enlightenment view of life and the world. It relied
heavily on scientific materialism, empiricism, and radi-
cal social theories. Claiming to advance LIBERTY, it chal-
lenged all traditional family, social, governmental, and
religious standards, elevating irreverence to a high sta-
tus. It ridiculed the hypocrisy of the church, the fool-
ishness of rulers, and the superstitions of common
people. Its faith in humanistic PROGRESSdrew from Sir
Francis BACONand its REPUBLICANISMfrom John LOCKE.
Most French Enlightenment thinkers were not Chris-
tians, but Unitarians, deists, or atheists. Their ideas
culminated in the French Revolution of 1789 and were
spread across Europe by the French invasions led by
Napoleon. They believed their ideas would advance
civilization, but more traditionally minded people saw
their enlightenment as darkness.Further Readings
Brumfitt, J. H. The French Enlightenment.London: Macmillan &
Company, 1972.Poster promoting President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Four
Freedoms.”(LIBRARY OFCONGRESS)