Fehrenbach 1

Zach Fehrenbach
Dr. Reader
HS 202-52
18 February 2014
Influential Writings and Causes of the French Revolution
What caused the French Revolution? This is a difficult question to answer because it is a
multicausal situation. However, it is undeniable that ideas of enlightenment and citizenship were
vital in making the French people feel restless and eventually rebellious in the 18th century.
Along with economic troubles like a bankrupt economy, corrupt tax system, and losing money in
international affairs like the American Revolution, people like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John
Locke, and Thomas Hobbes were a large part of the reason that the French Revolution occurred.
By analyzing these three influential political theorists in order of the closest to the French
revolution, Rousseau, and working backwards to Locke and finally Hobbes, readers will see the
correlation between the three men and their ideals, and how each influenced French
revolutionaries with ideas of citizenship and rights.
In The Social Contract, Rousseau addresses the ideas of citizenship and rights, among
many other topics. It is a republican book, and right from the beginning of his revolutionary text,
Rousseau accuses the 18th century French society of depriving men of their civil rights. Men are
born free, yet everywhere are in chains (Rousseau). Rousseau believed that just by being born,
men should be granted physical freedom. The Social Contracts name in itself represents
Rousseaus idea that there is basically an agreement made between man and his society that his
civil rights will be provided.

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The Social Contract also impacted French revolutionaries by proposing that the common
people should govern the state. He calls these people the sovereign, and backs up his proposition
with the idea that any person in society has just as many rights as a monarch, and because of this,
should be able to govern. By todays standards, this idea is not crazy at all. However, at the time
when Rousseau published The Social Contract, the notion of sovereign rule was considered very
radical. Rousseau does acknowledge the fact that this type of government could be imposed in
many different ways.
Rousseau held a lot of appeal to the third estate of people in France. He helped the
working class and serfs realize that they were being treated completely unfairly. They made up
for 96% and were taxed heavily, while the clergy and nobility were not taxed (stjohns-chs.org).
The Social Contract opened the eyes of the third estate, and they eventually began the French
Revolution.
John Locke wrote the Second Treatise on Civil Government long before the French
revolution, in 1690. However, some of the core ideas from this essay influenced philosophes
during the enlightenment, who then influenced French revolutionaries. In a manner similar to
Rousseau, one of Lockes main ideas was to give sovereignty to the people. Locke also
advocates a model of society that has a government acting solely to benefit the people.
Locke advocates the natural rights of citizens strongly. And thus, every man, by
consenting with others to make one body politic under one government, puts himself under an
obligation to everyone of that society to the determination of the majority (Locke). According to
Locke, the people need a strong government which has the power to defend their natural
liberties.

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Although Locke was writing before the French revolution and for an English audience,
his arguments for the instigation of a new form of government and the importance of
constitutional rights line up similarly to Rousseaus arguments. Also, Lockes ideas of humans
having free will and being able to reason appears blatantly in The Social Contract. It is
imperative that there should be no sectional associations in the state and that every citizen should
make up his own mind for himself (Rousseau). Locke indirectly influenced the French
revolution by greatly shaping Rousseaus writings.
Thomas Hobbes preceded Locke by about 40 years. Hobbes published Leviathan during
the English Civil War in 1651 and it was one of the most influential works of the 17th century.
Leviathan marked the start of the social contract theory. Hobbes believed that a strong unified
government was necessary to avoid civil war. He pushed for the re-installment of a monarchy,
and that created a lot of controversy at the time.
Generally, Hobbes is considered to have somewhat pessimistic ideals. Hereby it is
manifest that during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they
are in that condition which is called war (Hobbes). He is saying here that man is naturally
corrupt and is always seeking conflict. This corresponds with the idea of any revolution. The
general people become unsatisfied and restless and they take action. Hobbes life was always
shrouded with war (The Thirty Years War and the English Civil War) and Leviathan represents
his natural state of considering humans as naturally war-like.
Comparing and contrasting Hobbes and Locke is a popular topic for historians. At the
core, Lockes Two Treatises on Government basically updates Hobbes Leviathan but also has a
different take on human nature. In contrast, Locke is more optimistic and implements the notion
that humans have free will and are categorized by reason. Therefore, Locke is considered more

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contemporary and liberal in his philosophy. Comparatively, both Locke and Hobbes are
informing their readers about new political thoughts and ways of life in England. Also, they both
had a great effect on Rousseau and shaped the social contract theory. Furthermore, the social
contract theory is one of the most important motives behind Lockes, Hobbes and Rousseaus
works. (The social contract theory) has been one of the most dominant theories within moral
and political theory throughout the history of the modern West (Internet Encyclopedia of
Philosophy).
Relating Leviathan to the French Revolution is intriguing. In a separate but similar
historical context, Rousseau also produced a work that was controversial and incited readers
during a time of revolution. A significant difference between Leviathan and The Social Contract
is that Hobbes was writing during an actual revolution, while Rousseau was writing before his
respective revolution occurred. Leviathan deals less with issues of citizenship, but Hobbes
obviously influenced Rousseau greatly. Hobbes focused more on the natural state of man and
society, but his commencement of the social contract theory indirectly influenced French
revolutionaries a century and a half later.
It is clear that Rousseaus The Social Contract was a major component of bringing the
French revolutionaries to instigate the French Revolution. Napoleon even said that the revolution
would not have occurred without Rousseau (stjohns-chs.org). The Social Contract drew ideas
from Lockes Two Treatises on Government and Hobbes Leviathan but also disagrees with both
works by relating more to the ancient civilizations in Rome and Greece and concentrating on the
notion that citizenship and having civil rights are vital to the existence of man.

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Works Cited
Friend, Celeste. "Social Contract Theory." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., n.d. Web.
17 Feb. 2014. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/soc-cont/>.
Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan.
Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government.
"Rousseau and the French Revolution." Www.stjohns-chs.org. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.stjohns-chs.org/english/Romantic/Rouss.html>.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Social Contract.