Final answer:
The Enlightenment led to a philosophical shift where the monarch was seen to exist to serve the state and the citizens, based on social contract theory and the idea of natural rights, laying the foundation for modern democracy.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Enlightenment significantly altered the relationship between rulers and the state, advocating for the concept where the monarch exists to serve the state and support the citizen's welfare, as opposed to the state and citizens existing to serve the monarch. Philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau proposed ideas that questioned the traditional divine right of kings and suggested that sovereignty should derive from the will of the people, with constitutional monarchies or republics as ideal governments. They introduced the notion of a social contract, where kings and queens would derive their power from the agreements made with their subjects, indicating a shift from absolute rule to governance with the consent of the governed.
In this context, the Enlightenment encouraged the discussion of natural rights, the importance of the individual, equality under the law, and the legitimacy of revolution if a government failed to protect these rights. As these ideas spread, they provided the philosophical underpinnings for future democratic movements and revolutions, laying the groundwork for modern political systems in which the government operates for the benefit of the people rather than the other way around.