Classical liberalism, the Enlightenment, was a political movement that impacted countries and their policies for many generations. The Enlightenment emphasized the idea that men are inherently good by nature (Bentley). The Enlightenment gave people the idea that a king was not necessary to rule the people because people are not inherently evil. On the contrary, people need someone to guide them, but they do not have absolute power over them. Revolutions have been based on Enlightenment ideals because they are used to benefit the majority and not the wealthy elite. John Locke and his book Two Treatises on Government impacted the Enlightenment by spreading ideals throughout the world, which influenced revolutions. Locke wrote that “the state of nature is governed by a natural law which binds everyone; and reason, which is this law, teaches all humanity, who is willing to consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one must harm others in their life, their health, their liberty or their property” ( Locke. This ideal was the basis of the revolution sparked by the ideals of the Enlightenment. Locke believed that man had a set of rights granted to him at birth. These rights cannot be taken away from a man because of his social class, his race or any other reason. When the revolutions began, the people believed that the king had violated their natural rights. “All men can be restrained from invading the rights of others” (Locke. sect. 7) and this includes the nobility as well as the common people. Paine says in Common Sense that "the king cannot be trusted unless he is taken care of, or in other words, that the lust for absolute power is the natural disease of monarchy" (Paine, p. 10). A big theme with the Enlightenment in middle of paper...... government to guide them but has no absolute power and to rule with the consent of the governed (Locke). These ideals also influenced the revolution in France that launched their new system of government. The Age of Enlightenment had a lasting impact on the world and without it, the world would be different today. Works cited by Bentley, Jerry H., Herbert F. Ziegler and Heather E. Streets. Traditions and encounters. a brief world history. Fifth ed. Flight. 2. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2008. Print.France. Estates General. Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Third Estate.Versailles. August 1789.Locke, John. Two treatises on government. 1690. Printed. Paine, Thomas. Common sense. 1775. Printed. United States of America. Second Continental Congress. The Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson. Philadelphia. July 1776. England.