The document discusses changes to government and economics brought about by Enlightenment thinkers. It provides background on the Enlightenment and explains that thinkers used reason and science rather than religion. It then discusses several Enlightenment philosophers' ideas that challenged absolute monarchy and divine right of kings, including theories of social contracts, separation of powers, and individual rights proposed by thinkers like Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Hobbes. It also explains Adam Smith's ideas of laissez-faire economics that formed the basis for modern capitalism.

1. N E W I D E A S A N D C H A N G E S B R O U G H T
A B O U T B Y E N L I G H T E N M E N T T H I N K E R S
GOVERNMENT &
ECONOMICS DURING THE
ENLIGHTENMENT

2. ENLIGHTENMENT
BACKGROUND INFO
A QUICK REVIEW FROM LAST YEAR

3. WHAT IS THE ENLIGHTENMENT?
An intellectual movement
where thinkers used reason
and the scientific method,
rather than religious
teachings, to help them
understand their world.

4. ALSO KNOWN AS THE...

5. WHERE DID THE ENLIGHTENMENT
TAKE PLACE?
The
Enlightenment
started off in
Britain and
spread to
France.

6. Enlightenment thinkers (philosophes) in France would
often gather in salons to have meetings and
discussions.

8. GOVERNMENT & ECONOMICS

9. GOVERNMENT & ECONOMICS DURING
THE ENLIGHTENMENT
• Before the Enlightenment most leaders were
absolute monarchsmeaning they ruled the
country on their own with no say from anyone
else.
• Leaders believed they could rule by divine rights
meaning that God made them the leader and
therefore no one could question their power.
• Many leaders also had strong connections to the
church or controlled the religion in their countries.
• The average person had little say in the
government and no control over their own lives.

10. THOMAS HOBBES
• Hobbes had a negative
view of humanity and life.
• He believed that people
were generally mean
spirited and needed one
strong leader to rule over
them and keep them in
control.
• Hobbes felt government
needed to control the
people as much as
possible.

11. JOHN LOCKE
• Locke believed people were
generally good (opposite of
Hobbes).
• Locke said the role of the
leader was to protect people's
natural rights which are life,
liberty & property.
• If the leader did not protect the
people's natural rights than
Locke believed the people had
the right to overthrow the
leader (this is a type of social
contract).

12. BARON MONTESQUIEU
• Montesquieu believed it
wasn't a good idea to have
one person in charge of all
parts of government.
• Montesquieu believed in
separation of powers
meaning that different
parts/branches of
government should be run
by different people this
way no branch could get
too powerful and they
could all keep each other
in check.

13. JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU
• Rousseau believed that a
social contractexisted
between the people and
the leader.
• The social
contract meant that the
people agreed to let the
ruler be in charge on
certain terms. If the leader
broke those terms than the
leader no longer had the
right to rule and could be
overthrown by the people.

14. ADAM SMITH
• Adam Smith had new ideas
about the economy that
became the foundation for
capitalism.
• Smith believed in laissez-
fairewhich meant he
believed the government
should leave the economy
alone and let business regulate
itself.
• Smith believed if the economy
was left alone any problems
would work themselves out and
the nation would prosper.

15. KEY POINTS
• Many thinkers believed people should have more
say in the government and leaders should have
less power.
• Ideas such as natural rights, separation of church
and state, and separation of powers are still a part
of our government today and were ideas that
America was founded on.
• Adam Smith's ideas about laissez - faire
economies became the foundation for many
modern thoughts about economics and how
businesses should be run.