Enlightment philosophers expressed basic principles of the modern view such as the belief that every person posses natural rights that the government should not violate, and the yearning to reform the principles of society based on reasons. While Voltaire supported a conservative ideology on holding onto monarchy and tradition, he pleaded for tolerance and disagreed with religious fanaticism and persecution. At the same time, John Locke believed individuals were born with their natural rights and Jean Jacques Rousseau argued that one person did not have a natural authority over others. Promising a monarchy that avoided religious persecution, freedom of speech, and natural rights, enlightment thinkers influencing the common people to revolt lead to the French Revolution. Although the monarchy was restored, the revolution was successful in giving the common people a voice in their government and the elimination of one absolute power.
Voltaire argued whether wrong or right, citizens should be allowed to believe and think with their own reasons as long as he does not disturb the public order or the monarchy. He believed in the traditional morality of Christians but disagreed with the church’s intolerance. Voltaire believes in tolerance where everyone should tolerate each other. People are going to make mistakes but should be forgiven. Voltaire advances Enlightment values and expresses his thoughts of the world through Candide or Optimism where the character Jacques knows that people can be cruel but he still helps others showing his tolerance of man. Voltaire does not believe in religious fanaticism where higher authority would kill anyone who contradicts what they believe such as “judges who sentence men to death fo ...