Blueprint of Technical Professions: Changing Conceptions of Work and Education in Eighteenth-Century France

A legacy of the French Enlightenment is the preoccupation with the connection between education and work. During the Enlightenment, work came to signify personal liberty and national duty where individuals rose to the trade that best suited their talents and their country’s needs. Education came to signify a guarantee of a welltrained workforce benefiting the public good. From these ideas emerged technical professionals, workers capable of innovating practical trades and of ensuring future national prosperity. Examination of writings by Turgot, Voltaire, Rousseau, and La Chalotais demonstrates that enlightened ideas on labor and learning constitute a blueprint for technical professions.