Before the Revolution, France experienced a period called the Enlightenment. Traditional concepts, such as religion and government style, were discussed by scholars, philosophers, and ordinary people. One of the most famous writers of the Enlightenment was the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He introduced the concept that the people should be in command instead of a single ruler. This idea became known as the general will. Rousseau in his “The Social Contract” states: “Each of us places in common his person and all his power under the supreme direction of the general will, and, in our corporate capacity, we receive each member as an indivisible part of the whole. "(Rousseau). During the future French Revolution, Rousseau's writings became a milestone for the French people. His ideas gave the French people a definition of why the position of the king should be abolished. What is still better, Rousseau also described why people must be in charge. At the time of the Revolution much of the French power was given to the king and very little was left to the people to gain more power for themselves against the monarchy and instead in favor of Rousseau's philosophy that the collective whole should govern. According to Rousseau's ideas, all French citizens would be given power because the governing power was the collective whole. However, to achieve such intentions it was necessary for the people to abuse the traditional powers of France like Furet