Voltaire was from a bourgeois family in France. He
eventually lived in exile in Great Britain. During this time in history, France was
ruled harshly under an absolute monarchy, while Great Britain was ruled under a limited
monarchy - meaning people had more freedoms in Great Britain than they did in France.
Voltaire compared his living situation in GB to France and felt that living under the
restrictions of the French (censorship, despotism, lack of civil liberties) actually
barred human progress - meaning that the system held back the people under it from
bettering themselves and their society. He saw that in Great Britain, where the people
had more civil liberties, society was progressing.
He is
famous for the quote "I disapprove what you say, but I will defend to the death your
right to say it." In France, there was censorship - people were not allowed freely
speak out again things they didn't like. The government would silence them. He thought
that by doing so, people were less likely to try to change things - even if it was for
the better. That is why the conditions in France had been so awful for so long for the
3rd Estate - they didn't have the right to complain or be heard. Voltaire argued that
everyone should have the right to voice there opinions about the government (even if
they were not popular) and that the right to do so should be protected. To Voltaire -
it would be the freedom to speak out against the actions of the government that would
influence others to also speak out and that eventually this would put pressure on the
government to change - thus making progress for society.
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