Ok, so in class, once again, everyone assumes that:
1) The Enlightenment is related to the French Revolution
2) Greed is bad.
To point 1:
The French Revolution was a totalitarian revolution. The Enlightenment was about individual rights and property rights; the dislike of government comes from the frequent denial of those rights by them. The French Revolution denied most rights, especially freedom of speech (if you were a dissident or even suspected of being a dissident, you were beheaded). So, no, the French Revolution was not a result of the Enlightenment, nor was it founded on Enlightenment principles.
To point 2:
Greed has done wonders. Greed has built every comfort of modern life! Adam Smith (an Enlightenment Philosopher) explained why, several hundred years ago, yet people still are mistaken about this point.
Posted by raptros-v76 
