The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

Enlightenment Gone Wrong

In my History article on “Enlightenment”, I extoll the virtues of Enlightenment. However, Enlightenment sometimes gets it wrong. The most egregious example is what happened in the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. This is counterposed by how Enlightenment got it right in the American Revolution. First, however, I must define some terms and persons that I will be utilizing in this article. These terms and persons are excerpted from the Wikipedia articles that discuss these topics:

John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "Father of Liberalism". Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Sir Francis Bacon, Locke is equally important to social contract theory. His work greatly affected the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings influenced Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American Revolutionaries. His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence. Internationally, Locke’s political-legal principles continue to have a profound influence on the theory and practice of limited representative government and the protection of basic rights and freedoms under the rule of law.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic, and educational thought.

(MWD note - More information about the philosophy of John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau can be viewed at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy articles on John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau .)

The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of religious freedom. It was part of the wider Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The first (1642–1646) and second (1648–1649) wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third (1649–1651) saw fighting between supporters of King Charles II and supporters of the Rump Parliament. The wars also involved the Scottish Covenanters and Irish Confederates. The war ended with Parliamentarian victory at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651.

The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), gaining independence from the British Crown, establishing the Constitution, and establishing the United States of America, the first modern constitutional liberal democracy.

The French Revolution was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considered fundamental principles of liberal democracy, while phrases like liberté, égalité, fraternité reappeared in other revolts, such as the 1917 Russian Revolution, and inspired campaigns for the abolition of slavery and universal suffrage. The values and institutions it created dominate French politics to this day.

The Reign of Terror, commonly called The Terror (French: la Terreur), was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervor, anticlerical sentiment, and accusations of treason by the Committee of Public Safety. The Reign of Terror resulted in 16,594 official death sentences that had been dispensed throughout France since June 1793, of which 2,639 were in Paris alone, and an additional 10,000 died in prison, without trial, or under both of these circumstances.

Socialism is a political, social, and economic philosophy encompassing a range of economic and social systems characterized by social ownership of the means of production. It includes the political theories and movements associated with such systems. Social ownership can be public, collective, cooperative, or of equity. While no single definition encapsulates the many types of socialism, social ownership is the one common element and regulation of the means of production by government or society aimed at community benefit. Socialisms vary based on the role of markets and planning in resource allocation, on the structure of management in organizations, and from below or from above approaches, with some socialists favoring a party, state, or technocratic-driven approach.

Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership and control of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, a price system determined by supply and demand, private property, property rights recognition, voluntary exchange, and wage labor. In a capitalist market economy, decision-making and investments are determined by owners of wealth, property, ability to maneuver capital or production ability in capital and financial markets—whereas prices and the distribution of goods and services are mainly determined by competition in goods and services markets

In the modern political spectrum, it can be said that Jean-Jacques Rousseau was on the left while John Locke was on the right, but neither was far-left or far-right. It is in their differences of philosophy that I wish to highlight to demonstrate how the Enlightenment got it wrong and right. The following table illustrates these differences:

Jean-Jacques Rousseau     John Locke

Direct Democracy       ←—→  Republican Democracy
The Greater Good      ←—→  The Common Good
Government Rights     ←—→  Individual Rights
Socialistic Economy     ←—→  Capitalistic Economy
French Revolution       ←—→  American Revolution

Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed in a Direct Democracy, while John Locke believed in a Republican Democracy, as I discussed in my Article, "A Republican Constitution or a Democratic Constitution". Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed in The Greater Good, while John Locke believed in The Common good, as I have defined in my "Terminology" webpage on "Greater Good versus the Common Good". Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed in Government Granted Rights, while John Locke believed in Individual Natural Rights, as I discussed in my Article, "Natural, Human, and Civil Rights". Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed in a Socialistic economy, while John Locke believed in a Capitalistic economy, as I discussed in the section “Socialism and Capitalism” of my Article, "Socialism is Acceptable".

The English Civil War set the stage for the English and Scottish Enlightenment, as it was fought for the purposes of determining the role of government in society – a Monarchy or a Republic. John Locke was inspired by his father’s involvement with the Parliamentarians in The English Civil War, which shaped his view on the role of government in society. The English Civil War did not resolve the issue of governance, as the English people finally ended up with a limited Monarchy that was checked by a Parliament.

The American Revolution was based on the principles of John Locke, while The French Revolution was based on the principles of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The American Revolution founded a government of Liberty and Freedom that has lasted over two centuries, while The French Revolution quickly devolved into The Reign of Terror, followed by the rise of the authoritarian Emperor Napoleon.

Historians still discuss and debate the reasons for the failure of The French Revolution and the rise of The Reign of Terror. I would, however, propound that the core issue for the failure was a flawed philosophy of governance - the Jean-Jacques Rousseau political philosophy. Rousseau’s philosophy presumes a human nature of benevolence and goodwill towards other persons, while not allowing for the illiberality and self-centeredness of many (if not most) people. The Estates General government of The French Revolution had few checks and balances on the power of government and no means to reign in the passions of its citizens. Consequently, the resulting political turmoil and economic repercussions to French society soon deteriorated into mob rule and mob violence led by wicked persons bent upon power and revenge on their supposed enemies. This social and economic unrest led to the formation of the French Consulate, which quickly led to Napoleon Bonaparte becoming the ruler of France.

This is counterposed by the American Revolution, in which our Founding Fathers utilized the John Locke philosophy of governance as a basis for the formation of the Constitution. Our Founding Fathers were well aware of human nature and the lust for power and the dangers of mob rule, and the need for a government that would reign in these passions to preserve our "Freedoms, Liberties, Equalities, and Equal Justice for All". They, therefore, designed a government based on Locke's Political Philosophy. In this, they were eminently successful, as attested by the over two centuries of American Constitutional government.

The eight central concepts of Locke’s political philosophy are:

1. Natural Law and Natural Rights
2. State of Nature
3. Property
4. Consent, Political Obligation, and the Ends of Government
5. Legal Punishment
6. Separation of Powers and the Dissolution of Government
7. Religious Toleration
8. Education and Politics

These central concepts must not only be the basis for the government but also need to be internalized and faithfully adhered to by a government. If not, then a government is doomed to failure, as can be attested to by what happened in The French Revolution. We can, therefore, conclude that a successful government needs Locke’s Political Philosophy to endure. A successful government must also be based on the realities of human nature, for:

"To deny human nature, or to not acknowledge human nature, is foolish. To not do so will result in much effort, time, and monies being spent on a task that is doomed to failure."
 - Mark Dawson

Let us all think of what happened in The French Revolution and The Reign of Terror as a lesson of history. For if we do not ponder upon this lesson of history, then:

"Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it."
 - Edmund Burke