The Worst Men in History

They all had one thing in common.

Paul John wrote a book in 1988 titled “Intellectuals”. In the book he presents short biographies of philosophers from Rousseau to Marx to Satre. Many of the men in this book you may not recognize. Some you may be familiar with or at least hear their name. I can assure you this: you have come in contact with their ideas.

The ideas of Rousseau and Marx were popular enough in their day (Marx especially) but Rousseau’s affect on society at large was unnoticed in the West until some professors got a hold of his works in American universities. More than anyone, Rousseau can take the credit for the rise and triumph of the modern self - a book aptly title by Carl Trueman. Rousseau believed human being are corrupted by society. If circumstances were different, people would stay innocent. He believed in the triumph of inner feelings. He believed in liberty from oppressive society. Carl Trueman writes in his book that Rousseau’s ideas combined with other philosophers such as Marx and Freud led t…