Anicia Rosas

World History

Mr.Wisner

February 23, 2017

Individual Freedom

All men and women deserve basic rights. It wasnt until the late 17th and 18th century in

Europe that the people decided to make a change that would forever impact the world. Mary

Wollstonecraft, Adam Smith, Voltaire, and John Locke where some of the philosophers that

inspired change. They wanted to make the society better by giving people individual freedom in

the social role of women, economy, religion, and government. These philosophers affected the

freedom in our lives right now, inspired change in their society, and proposed new solutions with

the problems within their society.

Mary Wollstonecraft fought for the individual freedom in the social role of women

during the French revolution. She would be modernly known as a feminist in our society. She

was a British philosopher who was bothered the way men just subjectivized women to be a pretty

face that relies on the man. She believed women were inferior to men, but not because they were

women but merely because they were uneducated. Through reason, and experience she

developed this idea, and after receiving an education, she realized that was the answer. She

wished all humans were equal, and that each human deserved what they were born with, their

unalienable rights. If she didnt persist with individual freedom for women, women might still be

looked upon as property. While she was fixing the corruption in her sexist society other

philosophers were generating ideas for individual freedom in the economy.

 Adam Smith was a philosopher who wanted more individual freedom within the

economy. During the enlightenment the economic system was called mercantilism which was to

make the state or country rich. Everybody thought in order to achieve that you must have a

monarchy who had his power granted by god, but Adam was not falling for that. He believed that

the a man can supply the economy himself, that if all men pursued their own economic gain they

would help themselves, and there is an invisible hand which is a force that acts on all society

that is men pursuing their own economic interest which meets all the needs of society. He

wanted people to guide the economies decision making, and soon they will. If it werent for his

influential ideas a monarchy might just be in charge of our economy. While he was influencing

the economy to be more individually free other philosophers were pursuing ideas about religion.

Voltaire was a french philosopher who wanted peace, happiness, and individual freedom

within the religions of the world. Voltaire absolutely loved writing from poems to plays, and

even wrote over 20,000 letters. He was absolutely blown away by the fact that there a meeting

called the Royal exchange where all these different people with different religious backgrounds

came together and discussed trading, but they never fought about their religion and treated each

like normal human beings. He believed there can not just be one religion because their

government would become an arbitrary, and if there were only 2 their would be attacking each

other, but if there was a multitude of religions the world would be a better place. He never got to

see his dream because he died in 1778 eleven years before the French Revolution, but he truly

influenced the abundance of religious freedom we have, and that we are not judged based on our

religions. While he inspired our religious freedom a few philosophers wanted that, but for our

government.
 John Locke was a british philosopher who influenced the future on individual freedom

within the government. He lived through both the English civil war, and the glorious revolution.

John locke believed that people are at liberty to help themselves if the old government fails, and

he recommended the legislative, and executive branches within the government. He also believed

that men are born with the freedom to order their own actions, and dispose of their possession,

and people. He said creatures of the same species, are to be equal without subordination, or

subjection. John Locke died 86 years before the Declaration of Independence which was purely

influenced by Lockes ideas on society.

Four philosophers named Mary Wollstonecraft, Adam Smith, Voltaire, and John locke

forever changed the individual freedom in our society. They altered the ideas about the social

role of women, economy, religion, and government. These philosophers affected the freedom in

our lives right now, inspired change in their society, and proposed new solutions with the

problems within their society. Mary Wollstonecraft gave women equal rights with men, Voltaire

gave us our choice to religion, John locke gave us power to the people, Adam Smith gave us

capitalism, and that is only the few of the many things they influenced in our lives right now.

Who would have guessed it only took four passionate philosophers to give people the freedom

they deserve?