Liberty Comes From the Enlightenment

[Martin Hash]

The Enlightenment was almost completely confined in the 18th century. It was the idea of personal autonomy, something few people could understand, let alone take advantage of because all of history was brutal authoritarianism imposed by some ruling elite class. Slavery, either explicit or implicit, was a way of life not an aberration: to think one could reap the rewards or suffer the consequences of their actions was unimaginable; soon the king’s guard, or roving bandits would come take whatever they wanted at any time.

With semi-honest government that recognized the constraints of aristocracy, The Enlightenment was able to foster the beginnings of what we now call liberty. At the time, it wasn't personal autonomy as much as democratic voting. The French stopped there, leaving the State in charge, Philosophers at that time were still deeply ingrained in Bible scriptures to accept personal liberty, which they considered selfishness. In America, however, they went the whole way, providing liberty right down to the individual making decisions from themselves rather than having elected elites making decisions for them. This is all against a backdrop of Kings and Priests controlling society, with all decision-making power vested in them. Ruling classes don’t give up power voluntarily, so liberty can be considered a miracle.