Evaluate the extent of social and economic changes that took place during the Enlightenment.

The question requires that candidates make an appraisal of the extent of social and economic changes that took place during the Enlightenment. Candidates will identify a range of social and economic changes and gauge the significance of their impact. Examples could include the focus on reason over superstition, the Radical Enlightenment which promoted the concept of separating Church and State, Adam Smith’s free trade principle. Some candidates may argue that change was, in some cases, relatively limited, for example in terms of the minimal changes to the social structure of most European states. Enlightenment ideas tended to be confined to relatively small groups in society. Candidates may suggest that economic change could be considered to include the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution.