Rhetorical Analysis Of Common Sense By Thomas Paine

In an excerpt from Common Sense, Thomas Paine contrasts society with government by using a juxtaposition. It describes what the purpose of both society and government is. Paine uses this to lead into what the government is capable of doing to a society's members.

First, society grows; a government becomes needed, and in turn laws. Next, because of growth and the inability to gather the people all together, elections become needed. He describes these simple concepts as “the best balance between government and society” (Paine, n.pag.). After clearly explaining to the people his ideas, he uses his concepts to discredit the “monarchial and aristocratic tyranny” (Paine, n.pag.) in the English Constitution. He further examines the lack of appropriate checks and balances, and charges it as unable to “be the gift of a wise people” (Paine, n.pag.). In this section, Paine successfully illustrates an expectation of appropriate government, in a basic construction that puts organization to the public’s desires.

In Thomas Paines excerpt describing America in 1971, he provides many key points explaining what America was then and it gives a great basis to compare to what it is now. He starts off explaining tthat America is a melting pot of people of all different nationalities and cultures, then he moves onto the civil unison of our government and people, and lastly he talks about taxes and the rich vs. the poor.

We as a people are out of control and are putting the human race at risk of total extinction. We also, are naturally evil when left up to us with no laws or rules. The human race is killing, stealing, and have no boundaries. This is why we need to form a strong government using John Locke’s ideals to have a chance of surviving.

Society is produced by our wants, and government is created by wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last is a Punisher.” here he is saying that there is a difference between government and society in the next paragraph he says that society created government with a small portion of their property(their wealth), in order to protect their property. He says the difference between government and society is that society are the people want to work together with other people to fulfil their needs, and we need government to keep us from doing the wrong thing, so the purpose of government is the freedom and security of society.

As a result, it gives life meaning and promotes general welfare since everyone will be pursuing their divinely given life purposes (Calvin, 1496). On the contrary, Paine asserts that in every community, people are interdependent of each other in day-to-day living, and therefore, he encourages standards that foster harmonious life. Consequently, interdependence leads to the development of rules and regulation to govern the population which makes a government structure. By virtue of common sense not everyone in a society can govern, and therefore growth of people leads to the development of a legislative body to govern the rest of the population. In the English constitution, these developments have led to complex structures of governance: monarchy and absolute governments, which in most cases end up being oppressive.

Thomas Paine begins Common Sense with the idea that government and society have different means and are often confused with each other. He states that “society is produced by our wants”, it is positive by “uniting our affections”, it “encourages intercourse”, and is a “patron” (Paine). Paine describes government as begin the opposite. He describes government as being produced by “our wickedness”, it promotes “negatively by restraining our vices”, “creates distensions, and government is a “punisher” (Paine). In conclusion to this, he describes government as “a necessary evil” (Paine).

The first section of the pamphlet is titled, "Of the Origin and Design of Government in General; With Concise Remarks on the English Constitution." In this section, Paine attacks, "the English constitution in particular," and, "aristocratic institutions in general." He states that, "Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worse state an intolerable one." Paine is saying that although government may be a terrible thing, it is up to the people to determine how bad it may become. He goes on to attack the English constitution, stating that it is "the base remains of two ancient tyrannies, compounded with

In Paine’s Common Sense, there is a central theme that shows up in multiple works he wrote, Independence. He was strongly against the government and supports this belief with a quote from his work Common Sense, “Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil” (http://www.earlyamerica.com). This quote supports his belief that people do not need the government and that they should be independent. Supporting this belief, Paine states that the natural state of man is to live without government (http://www.sparknotes.com)

The first sentence of the introduction, “a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right,” (Paine, 1776) is instantly captivating to me by the Paine’s acknowledgement that by not standing up to wrong and injustices when you see or experience it is the same as giving the injustice your seal of approval for the wrongs being done. The very fact that Pain is admittingly not fan of government but goes on to justify its necessity, shows his commitment to doing what he feels is right is fascinating and respectable, especially in the time in which he lived. During this time, his actions would be considered a treasonous act against the monarch

He says that the “government is just” and that “there is nothing to engender riots and tumults”. It is very obvious that these things are not true in regard to our current government. Our current government is not just, as it is riddled with corruption and systemic oppression of minorities. In America today, only a small portion of the people feel protected by the government. It is also untrue that there is nothing that the government does which incites riots. We can see examples of riots and protests against the United States government occurring every day. Currently there are protests against racism in the police force, protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, and protests such as the Women’s March against our new president. This shows that Paine’s description of a fair and just government does not hold true

It claims all monarchs are despots, cut off from their people and craving for absolute power.  “Male and female are the distinctions of nature,” Paine wrote, “good and bad the distinctions of heaven; but how a race of men came into the world so exalted above the rest . . . is worth enquiring into” (Paine 9).  Government is a necessary evil, a “badge of lost innocence,” that tends to get in the way of civilized society.  Modern civilizations should organize themselves into local, self-governing societies with only representational government, suggested Paine, not an all-powerful monarch. “Of more worth is one honest man to society, and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived” (Paine 17).

Paine's vehement use of schemes exposes the intertwined relationship between the government and the governed, as he interjects, "Interchange will establish a common interest with every part of the community, they will mutually and naturally support each other and on this…depends the strength of the government, and the happiness of the governed"(par. 2). This delicate, yet critical balance of the people versus the state is what this country has been about from the very beginning of it, a place where there will not be the acted upon, but those who act, a place where choice has become the most important part of life, the very center of life itself, affecting both individuals, communities, and this nation as a whole. This catching parallel structure is also used in the final paragraph as Paine expresses: "However our eyes may be dazzled with show, or our ears deceived by sound; however prejudice may warp our wills, or interest darken our understanding, the simple voice of nature and of reason will say, it is

Paine opens the closing paragraph by uniting the people with ethos, "The far and near, the home counties and the back, the rich and the poor will suffer or rejoice alike." In saying that Paine implies, no matter what happens they all will stay together, whether it be death or freedom. He also uses ethos by stating "Not all the treasures in the world...could have induced me to support and offensive war, I think it murder.", by saying this Paine shows that war was the last option he would have much rather came to a peaceful solution, but given the circumstances, there was no choice. Paine closes up the paragraph by using an asyndeton, "Let them call me a rebel and welcome...but I should suffer the misery of devils were I to make a whore of my soul by swearing allegiance to one whose character is that of a sottish, stupid, stubborn, worthless, brutish man." His use of the asyndeton to show that the King is much more than that he listed.

Mr. Paine looked upon government as a sort of necessary evil. He thought of society as a much better state. However, Mr. Paine understood that due to the fallen nature of man, that society alone without the aid of laws and forces to keep said laws, man would not only lack a perfect care for one another, but that man may prove to do harm to one another. He further proposed that not only was government a necessary evil, but that in its worst state, it was an intolerable evil.