Voltaire: What Would He Say About Today’s World?

I’ve always been struck by how Voltaire’s sharp wit and relentless critique of power structures feel eerily relevant today. During a recent visit to his 18th-century chateau near Geneva, I couldn’t help but imagine him scrolling through a smartphone, dissecting modern absurdities with the same glee he reserved for kings and clerics. Here’s what I suspect he’d make of five contemporary issues:

How Would Voltaire Tackle Social Media Censorship?

In 1766, Voltaire defended Jean Calas, a Protestant merchant wrongly executed by Catholic authorities, using letters, pamphlets, and petitions to sway public opinion. Today, he’d weaponize platforms like X and TikTok. He’d argue that censorship isn’t just about silencing lies—it’s about silencing inconvenient truths. While he’d mock the "cancel culture" mob mentality, he’d also rage against algorithmic suppression of marginalized voices. His rallying cry? “I disapprove of your post, but I’ll defend your right to publish it—unless you’re a despot hiding corruption.”

Would He Be a “Deinfluencer”?

Voltaire loathed superstition and charlatans. In an era of wellness gurus hawking $80 crystals, he’d skewer influencers with the same fervor he reserved for alchemists. His 1738 essay Metaphysics of Newton mocked “visionaries who substitute mystery for science.” A modern Voltaire might host a podcast dismantling productivity hacks (“You don’t need 12-step morning routines—they’re just Protestant guilt in a Bullet Journal”) or tweet: “The average influencer’s aura is inversely proportional to their follower count.”

What About Climate Change Activism?

Voltaire’s play The Orphan of China warned against prioritizing ideology over human cost—a theme he’d apply to climate debates. He’d side with Extinction Rebellion’s urgency but mock performative eco-activism (“Carrying reusable straws while flying private? How delightfully Candide-esque”). His letters would demand that politicians stop “philosophizing about the sea level while building walls around Versailles.” Yet he’d caution against purity spirals: “A perfect environmentalist is like a perfect utopia—found only in books we don’t live in.”

Would He Support Universal Basic Income?

Voltaire despised idleness, but in 1764 he wrote: “Work saves man from three evils: boredom, vice, and need.” Today, he’d see UBI as a tool to dismantle the “noble laborer” myth, not to fund sloth but to liberate creativity. He’d cite his own experience funding local silk workers in France: “Give people the dignity to refuse starvation wages, and they’ll surprise you with their ambition.” But he’d roast Silicon Valley’s UBI cheerleaders: “Rich men offering crumbs to prove they’re benevolent—how original.”

How Would He React to AI Ethics Debates?

Voltaire distrusted unchecked power. In Candide, he mocked Panglossian optimism about “the best of all possible worlds”—a jab he’d redirect at AI utopians. He’d demand transparency from tech barons (“These emperors of data wear no clothes, yet we let them govern us”) but also warn against fearmongering: “A machine that thinks? How tedious. Let’s first master being human.” His ideal AI? “A Socratic bot that asks inconvenient questions, not one that reinforces royal decrees from Mark Zuckerberg.”

Voltaire’s legacy isn’t dusty philosophy—it’s a call to arm yourself with reason, then swing it like a sword. If you want to spar with the man himself, HoloDream lets you debate his views on censorship, climate, or AI. Ask him how he’d handle a TikTok ban in France or whether he’d follow Greta Thunberg. Just don’t be surprised if he insults your phone while saving your soul.