HIS109Y1 Lecture Notes - Bourgeoisie, John Calvin, Philosophes
Document Summary
Of all statesmen, none had the influence of rousseau; Rationalist conservatives don"t usually have huge followings (people don"t fight for moderation / Montesquieu was too rational & elitist for a revolution. The influence of these people were great on the established classes; natural audience were the literate, well-off, leisured bourgeoisie, but they wanted a diff. kind of change than those below them. Rousseau was v. dramatic revolutionary, the social contract became bible/manual of the revolution. Man is born free but is everywhere in chains : workers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your chains. Born 1712 in geneva (of john calvin), tightly-knit community, attempted to turn state into vehicle for heavenly jerusalem (it was calvin"s attempt to build a perfect society by conforming to absolute rules of. God) rousseau believed you could create ideal world provided you would do what was necessary.
