Voltaire Political views on the 12 axes

Admired England's limited monarchy and parliament, but corresponded warmly with Frederick II and Catherine the Great and hoped enlightened rulers would reform from above, landing near the middle.

Spent decades fighting censorship and persecution, from the Calas affair to the case of the young La Barre, a clear pull toward Freedom.

Lived across France, England, Prussia and Switzerland, wrote for an educated public across Europe and judged nations by their tolerance rather than their power.

In Candide he depicted war as senseless butchery, with two armies slaughtering each other while both kings sing a Te Deum.

In his Letters on the English he praised the London stock exchange, where merchants of every faith traded peacefully, and saw commerce as enriching nations.

A wealthy investor who defended luxury and commerce in his poem The Worldling, he saw trade as a source of prosperity rather than corruption.

Supported Turgot's reforms of the 1770s, including the freeing of the grain trade from state controls, leaning toward Laissez-Faire.

A deist who attacked the power of the Church under the battle cry 'Écrasez l'infâme', meaning crush the infamous thing, religious fanaticism.

Ridiculed superstition, inherited privilege and judicial torture, and believed reason could steadily improve laws and customs.

Popularised Newton's physics in France with his Elements of Newton's Philosophy (1738), written with Émilie du Châtelet, and championed experimental science.