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One Enlightenment Thinker Jean-Jacques Rousseau

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The Age of Enlightenment lasted from the 1620s to the 1780s, and was a period of time where many great thinkers emphasized individual freedoms and logical reasoning. Enlightenment challenged many prominent organizations, such as the Roman Catholic Church and some governmental organizations. One Enlightenment thinker, Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Voltaire), thought that “government should be responsible for the people and supply to them freedom and happiness. The people thus agree to be governed on such terms1”. Voltaire believed that the government should cater to the people’s needs, and not control its citizens and take away their freedoms. In addition, he also thought that people should have a right to choose how their government governed them.

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