Illustration and the concept of freedom and political inequality
The illustration was a political and cultural movement that aroused and illuminated the intellectuals of the 18th century;who sought explanations based on the nature of reason. During this period of time, man had to have the value to guide himself for his own reason to which Immanuel Kant better defined as “having the value of serving you of your own reason!”This concept, mainly, was the engine of this movement, promoting man to seek a new orientation in his life. However, this current not only promoted the use of reason;but, the ideas of the Enlightenment began the relationship between inequality and freedom with politics.
First, Jean-Jacques Rousseau related the concept of political inequality, identifying that there were two kinds of inequality the natural and politics. In the case of political inequality, Rousseau states that "it consists of the different privileges that some enjoy to the detriment of others, such as the richest, most respected, more powerful being, and even becoming obeyed";seen from Rousseau’s point of view, political inequality is one that is characterized by social differences. In addition, Rousseau explains that this type of inequality cannot exist without the support of man, so that in the end it is this type of inequality that governs society.
Second, the idea of freedom conceived during the period of the Enlightenment was defined by many intellectuals;However, Montesquieu was responsible for relating this concept to politics in his book "The spirit of laws". In this text, Montesquieu said that political freedom can only be born through law, this means that freedom goes beyond complying with natural desires. Montesquieu thought that "in a state, that is, in a society in which there are laws, freedom can only be able to do what you should want and not be obliged to do what you should not want";Therefore, this concept was understood as the power to act under its own will this action was governed by law. On the other hand, Montesquieu attributed that political freedom not only depended on the laws that limited it but that freedom depended on the idea that each citizen understood about their security;This factor was affected by the form and type of government that governed society, that is, when the power centralized in just one person, monarchy, or when the powers of the State were not separate could not exist freedom. In this way, the idea of freedom during the Enlightenment was related to politics by the way in which citizens had to govern their way of acting under the law;In addition, due to the fact that freedom was going to exist depending on the way in which the citizens rule.
Finally, the Enlightenment was a movement that allowed man to emancipate and illuminate his thought through reason. In addition, through this current the concepts of freedom and inequality with politics were related, which contributed to other way in which society was organized and governed. Regarding the concept of inequality, Rousseau clearly explains how political inequality is affected by the privileges that characterize certain people;Now, the concept of freedom is limited by the laws that govern society and depend on the way in which the Government State. In this way, freedom and equality were high relevance issues during the period of illustration that we can see reflected through their relationship with politics.
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