Voltaire contends that this system of taxation reduces burden on the lower class, while leaving room for social mobility. The peasants could increase their production without fear of a sudden increase in their taxes, which led to a widespread increase in productivity and enriched England. This increased productivity was also influenced by the nobles in England who did not deem participating in trade beneath their station. Unlike France, where nobles mocked traders, and traders were embarrassed about their profession, and Germany, where every rich citizen considered himself a Prince, English nobles were content to be prosperous in trade. Voltaire praises this attitude because, “… a Merchant, who enriches his country, dispatches orders from his compting-house to Surat and Grand Cairo, and contributes to the felicity of the world” was more valuable than lords and princes (Letters 43). This shift in behavior and views of the noble in England was a significant Enlightenment development which propelled English trade and commerce to the
Voltaire contends that this system of taxation reduces burden on the lower class, while leaving room for social mobility. The peasants could increase their production without fear of a sudden increase in their taxes, which led to a widespread increase in productivity and enriched England. This increased productivity was also influenced by the nobles in England who did not deem participating in trade beneath their station. Unlike France, where nobles mocked traders, and traders were embarrassed about their profession, and Germany, where every rich citizen considered himself a Prince, English nobles were content to be prosperous in trade. Voltaire praises this attitude because, “… a Merchant, who enriches his country, dispatches orders from his compting-house to Surat and Grand Cairo, and contributes to the felicity of the world” was more valuable than lords and princes (Letters 43). This shift in behavior and views of the noble in England was a significant Enlightenment development which propelled English trade and commerce to the