Abstract: How can we nuance Voltaire’s use of the word “people” (people) in light of current events such as the 2011 Egyptian revolution? The term “people” was invented in order to create a sense of national identity. But history is littered with pivotal moments, kindled by the enlightened elites who create, with the support of a quarter of the population as in the recent Egyptian context, an unexpected turn of events. This unexpected moment is not a coincidence, but the result of the work of an elite, closely resembling that to which Voltaire addresses his writings, on the condition that it can illuminate an important part of the mass that Voltaire called the “mob”.
