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The Philosophies of Voltaire and Rousseau The Enlightenment of in Europe was a time of great intellectual discovery which resulted in many varying ideas on how government, as an institution, should be controlled and the driving force behind society. Every aspect of the latter ideas has been discussed thoroughly by the philosophes, each with their own unique ideas. Arguably, the most contrasting philosophes of that time were Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau where Rousseau’s form of government and ideas on society are more realistic than those of Voltaire’s. Voltaire advocated a paradoxical view on by whom and how the government should be controlled. Even though Voltaire was an enlightened philosophe, his view on government was not with-in the same context as the views held by the other prominent philosophes. Voltaire believed that a government could be controlled by a single leader of an elite few of educated gentleman who knew what was best for the citizens. Essentially, Voltaire advocated enlightened despotism because he thought that the lower classes did not posses the capacity for self-government. He believed that the “ignorant rabble” was a danger whenever restraint, i.e.
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