Radical Ideas of the 1700s | Generated by AI
Question: What were some unpopular or controversial opinions in the 1700s (the 18th century)?
Answer:
During the 1700s, many ideas that we now take for granted were considered radical, heretical, dangerous, or deeply unpopular among the establishment and general population. Here are some notable examples:
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Abolition of slavery
While the slave trade and plantation slavery were economically vital to Europe and the Americas, early abolitionists like Anthony Benezet, Granville Sharp, and later Quakers were seen as extremists or economic saboteurs. Most people viewed slavery as natural, biblical, and necessary. -
Atheism or strong deism
Openly denying the existence of God or rejecting revealed Christianity could get you imprisoned, exiled, or worse. Think of figures like Denis Diderot, Baron d’Holbach (“There is no God” was literally illegal to print in many places), or David Hume’s veiled skepticism—widely condemned. -
Republicanism and anti-monarchism
Before the American and French Revolutions, suggesting that hereditary monarchy was illegitimate or that “the people” should rule was treasonous in most of Europe. Even mild parliamentary reform was suspect in places like Britain. -
Women’s rights and equality
Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) was ridiculed and called immoral. The idea that women should have education equal to men, vote, or own property independently was considered absurd and dangerous. -
Religious tolerance for Catholics, Jews, or “infidels”
In Protestant countries, advocating full rights for Catholics was deeply unpopular (and vice versa in Catholic countries). Voltaire’s push for tolerance was hated by traditionalists on both sides. -
Racial equality
The idea that Africans or Indigenous peoples were intellectually equal to Europeans was rejected by almost everyone, including most Enlightenment thinkers (Locke, Hume, Kant, and Voltaire all expressed racist views by today’s standards). -
Ending capital punishment for minor crimes
Europe still hanged people for theft, forgery, etc. Cesare Beccaria’s 1764 book On Crimes and Punishments arguing against torture and the death penalty for non-violent crimes was banned in several countries. -
Sexual liberty / rejection of marriage norms
Early advocates of free love, divorce rights, or acceptance of homosexuality (very rare) were scandalous. The Marquis de Sade went to prison partly for writing about it. -
Pacifism or opposition to standing armies
In an age of constant war, suggesting Europe should disband large armies and rely on militias (as some radicals did) was seen as naive or treasonous. -
Secular public education
The idea that the state, not the church, should control schools and teach without religious doctrine was fiercely resisted.
Most of these opinions only became mainstream in the 19th or 20th centuries—some are still contested today. The 1700s were an age of Enlightenment for a tiny elite, but for the broader society, hierarchy, religion, and tradition were fiercely defended.