Candide and The Social Contract by Voltaire and Rousseau

In 18th century Europe, there were dramatic changes in the way people thought taking place. This period became to be known as the Enlightenment and was a new period of intellectual growth and development for Europe. Among the many figures responsible for the Enlightenment are the popular authors of the time. Voltaire and Rousseau were two of the more heralded writers of 18th century Europe. For this essay, we read Voltaire’s Candide and The Social Contract by Rousseau. In order to respond to the assertion we’re provided though, it might help to define the term civil society, since that’s what the assertion is about. Civil society is simply a group of people living together in a community and their relationships with each other or with the state or ruling power. Now as for the assertion, it was two-part, so I chose to answer it in two parts…
I agree with the assertion that, in Candide, Voltaire argues for the perfectibility of civil society. The underlying theme t...