The 18th century was truly a time when giants strode the world. It was the "Age of Enlightenment" or, more descriptively, the "Age of Reason." It was the time of intellectual behemoths: Edmund Burke, Voltaire, Immanuel Kant, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Diderot among them. On the other side of the Atlantic, even the American frontier produced such brilliant minds as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Adams. It was a time of presumptions, both great and small, and of thinkers who dreamed of a time when Man would be perfected through thought and reason and education.

The 18th century saw two great political revolutions: The American Revolution, which gave birth to a new nation, and the French Revolution, which tore to tatters one that was previously great. It was an age of music which was given voice and symphonic grandeur by the baroque geniuses of Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederic Handel (he, of the "The Messiah"), Joseph Haydn, Ludwig von Beethoven and, the greatest of them all, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In literature, Daniel Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe, often referred to as the "first modern English novel." As one thinks and reflects upon the ferment of the 1700's, some would declare that single century:

• Reversed religious notions that human nature and the material world were infected by sin; instead they became beneficial
• Provided a new rationale for the way we obtain and use knowledge
• Coined or redefined words—such as humor, sentiment, and sensibility—to reflect new attitudes about feelings and personality
• Disputed the classical dictum that art should "hold a mirror up to nature" and serve a moral purpose
• Laid the groundwork for theories of the unconscious
• Nurtured the development of the novel, with new ways of understanding psychological and social experience
• Invented the autobiography
• Raised pre-Darwinian ideas about evolution
• Suggested (but did not consummate) that men and women should be treated as equals.

But, while the 18th century clearly stands as a singular time for progress in all phases of human endeavor - from the arts to science and to politics - it also carried with its grand triumphs a distinctly dark side. The events of the century shook the Western World to its very foundation. It was a time, if ever there was, that man's reach exceeded his grasp. The utopian concepts born of that age (and, more, the efforts of man to achieve this chimera) have had lasting effects on civilization and echo into our age today with a deafening din. The candle, lit three centuries ago, to light man’s path to his "golden future" still burns today. We may, in a manner of thinking, sit today at the dawn of the second Age of Reason - or, "The Age of Enlightenment - Redux."

I say this because we are hearing rhetoric from certain circles that sounds ominously familiar. For all the wonders and advancements of human rights of the 18^th century, it was a period of gut-wrenching change and chaos - actual anarchy if one includes the French Revolution and its aftermath. This is no comfort for those of us who prefer that humans - as a race, culture and civilization - progress with "baby steps" and not leaps and bounds. But what I see upon the horizon is gangly, misplaced and awkward leaps and bounds that will lead to inevitable missteps and costly, dangerous and potentially catastrophic errors.

The errors will come, as they did 300 years ago, because of the misplaced belief that man can be "perfected." Man, as went the populist philosophy of those distant times, was, after all, but a "noble savage" within whom the spark of greatness lay. The words that were on the lips of (almost) every philosopher of this fanciful time, the very words that have, before and since, reeked such havoc upon the world were given voice throughout civilization: "if only". If only man could be sufficiently educated and cultivated, all things would be possible. If only he could be taught to appreciate the world around him and his fellow humans, wars would end, monarchies would fall and poverty and class distinctions would be eliminated. If only he would take his eyes off the corrupt and mystical Church, he could live in the "real" world. If only he could be made to realize that God exists not in Heaven but on earth and in nature, man would be finally free. All men have the capacity for greatness, generosity and happiness, if only the bonds of the past could be broken. And man has the genius to design and create a perfect world and governments - which only hold man in unjust and cruel bondage - would be superfluous, if only...

The cruelest lesson from that period - that man is not as noble as one might think - is long forgotten in these heady days of the early 21^st century. A notable (if sparse) collection of voices tried to be heard in the days of the first Enlightenment - principally, Edmund Burke in England and John Adams in America - but few listened. Fewer still listen today. The past - as we have been warned by yet another - seems doomed to be repeated as we forget lessons hard taught. Perhaps, to better center the point Burke and Adams sought to whisper to their posterity, we should look to a contemporary. Words of warning not from a noted philosopher or, God Forbid, a politician, but a talented artist of our time give life to the cold, dead past. Film-maker Stanley Kubrick once remarked:

"Man isn't a noble savage, he's an ignoble savage. He is irrational, brutal, weak, silly, unable to be objective about anything where his own interests are involved; that about sums it up. I'm interested in the brutal and violent nature of man because it's a true picture of him. And any attempt to create social institutions on a false view of the nature of man is probably doomed to failure." [Emphasis added]

Those who know of man understand that, despite his capacity for incredible acts of love and compassion, he is - at his absolute best - imperfect, imperfectible and prone to error. At his worst, he is murderous, inane, cruel, and beastly. With this clear from even our recent past (Rwanda, Darfur, Chechnya, New York, Lebanon, Oklahoma City amd Abu Ghraib, ad infinitum), how are we to stride confidently ahead with a view toward solving all the ills of mankind?

But, despite the haunting voices of the past, ever-present for those who bother to listen, there are those among us who still chant that most insidious of mantras: "if only." If only we embrace diplomacy, we can avoid all conflicts. Tyrants, if they rear their heads, will be brought down by their own vices and their own people. If only we could devise judicial methods to check and regulate business practices, we can control individual greed and corruption. If only we could sufficiently assist those who have seen prosperity pass them by, they can regain control of their lives and rejoin the happy citizens of our nation. If only we could adequately fund our schools and pay our educators commensurate with their true value, our children will grasp the importance of education and be more productive members of society. Similarly, if only we could find the finances to provide free health care for our citizenry we could attain a stronger, more vital workforce and regain our lost productivity. If only...

The world of "if only" exists in the minds of those furthest removed from the harsh realities of human nature. Godwin and Condorcet have been replaced by Edwards and Kucinich, hardly a trade that compliments the great thinkers of the 18^th century. Though the voices have changed, the ideas remain unaltered. Despite history’s endless proofs that the Leviathan state suppresses initiative and discourages commerce, those who espouse Enlightenment - Redux seem to feel that this time, the results will be different. It reminds one of the definition of insanity: "continuing to do the same things over and over, always expecting different results". Taxing the "rich" and subsidizing poverty was not a workable solution 300 years ago and it is not a solution today. Indiscriminately "open borders" leads to ethnic clustering and inevitable feelings of exclusion. And exclusion leads to violence and revolt.

Ironically, as I write this, the intellectual home of the first Enlightenment, France, is being rocked with riots for the second time in two years ignited by their burgeoning "poor immigrant" minorities. In a report by the Associated Press, we can hear the "if only" seeping through the words:

"There have long been tensions between France's largely white police force and the ethnic minorities trapped in poor neighborhoods. Despite decades of problems and heavy state investments to improve housing and create jobs, the depressed projects that ring Paris are a world apart from the tourist attractions of the capital. Police speak of no-go zones where they and firefighters fear to patrol." [Emphasis added]

The French government has not yet grasped the simple historical fact: namely, artificial (read: governmental) leveling of natural social strata that drive some men forward and leave some behind never works. The French Revolution attempted it in every conceivable way and succeeded in only one - population control. Beheading is, if drastic, an effective solution to shortening bread lines. Order in France was only restored after the ascension of Napoleon to dictator and we all know how well that worked out. Lest we be too hard on our friends in France, most of the European Union is following the same game plan; sadly, America seems poised to play "follow the leader" soon enough.

For all his mental gifts, man may have a superior ability (at least compared to apes) to think but a distinctly flawed ability to reason and an absolutely destitute capacity to learn. The "Age of Enlightenment - Redux" will, with a nod to The Who, bring new lessons, same as the old lessons.