The South African Legal Culture Essay

In the book by Thomas Paine called Common Sense, mostly covers the subject of American Independence. In the beginning of his argument, paine reflects on government and religion. According to Paine’s point of view, society is everything to help the people join together to accomplish a constructive good. He believes that government is only purpose is to protect the people from themselves.Government has its start with the bad of man and is therefore a necessary evil at best. He says that government's main purpose should be to protect our freedom and our rights, paine also believes that a government should be judged merely to extent to which it manage the target

Government is a necessary evil because a government is needed to regulate a society and “protect life, liberty, and property”. He proposes the American Colonies are in need of a new government. He gives suggestions on how government officials should be elected. He also suggests that a “Continental Charter” be written at a Constitution Conference”. The type of government he proposed was a republican government. Paine suggests that only representation is crucial to “the strength of

The identity of a society is verified through the rights which are given to the citizens. The rights of man have been at many different standards throughout time. Often being very one sided, and at times striving for a median between the two sides. In Edmund Burke's essay Reflections on the Revolution in France Burke states that a king is in one sense a servant but in everyday situations they are above every individual. All persons under him owe him a legal agreement to serve his hopes. This essay will demonstrate why Thomas Paine's essay The Rights of Man is more convincing than Edmund Burke's through examination of a heredity government, the nature of rights and the uselessness of the monarchy.

A constitution is the system of fundamental principles according to which a nation is governed. Our founding fathers created the US Constitution to

1. The problems that Thomas Paine sees with the British monarchy involve its straying from ideal government, the unjust placement of one individual above all others, and its hereditary aspect. The problems that Thomas Paine sees with King George III in particular are his personal transgressions against liberty. Thomas Paine, firstly views government as “but a necessary evil” (15), and therefore it should be both as limited as possible and also tied to the more positive society. The ideal form of government, thus according to Paine, is a simple republic where the elected are forced to be accountable to their electors (16). The British monarchy fails in all accounts; not only does the prescence of a monarchy at all eliminate the accountability of a republic, but the complicatedness of the British monarchy system makes it worse in this aspect than even other monarchies. Although absolute monarchies are horrid in that they give no power to the people, they are still simpler than the British monarchy; this makes issues much more difficult to handle in the British monarchy (17). The other problems that Paine has with the British monarchy apply to monarchies at large. Paine argues that the placement of one person above all others is an unnatural divide; there is no explanation for the division of people into “KINGS and SUBJECTS” (22) such as there are in other forms of division that humans live with. If it does not make sense to place one individual above all others, then such should most certainly not be law; therefore, from this logic, monarchy, which is entirely based on the principle of placing one person (and their relatives) above all others, is an invalid and unnatural form of government. Of course, some people could, arguably, have earned the admiration and respect of their peers through important action, and thus be deserving of a leadership position. In a republic, by listening to their electors, the elected earn their right to lead. However, the hereditary monarchy removes this earning of the right to lead, and Paine takes issue with that. There is no guarantee that the descendants of a good leader will also be good leaders, and therefore the government of a country should never be left to heredity (29).

According to the Deputy Chief Justice, Dikgang Moseneke prior to the establishment of the Black Lawyers Association (BLA), African attorneys faced several indignities and challenges, for instance, for African lawyers “It was an offence to practise within “white” towns or cities.” African lawyers were made to use the rear entrance of the courthouse unlike their white colleagues who were permitted to use the front entrance, African lawyers were most likely to lose a case based on racial bias rather than poor performance. African and white lawyers were segregated in court and African lawyers were only permitted to address the court once seated in their designated areas. As a means of affirming their status as an attorney, African lawyers carried their admission certificates1 in

Paine’s view of human nature and the need for government is that government is needed to keep people, who against their morals, in order. Paine believes that it is human nature tend to not do the right thing and go against their morals. If there was no government, Paine believes the society will fall apart. Therefore, the government is essential for survival of the society as long as it follows the ideas of the people.

Constitutionalism was the most effective form of government largely because it served the best interest of its citizens by protecting natural rights of life, liberty, property, free speech, religion, and due process. John Locke, an english philosopher who was largely influenced by the English Revolution, heavily advocated for

From his experience with England's shabbily structured monarchy, his reasons to break free from it grew exponentially. Paine mentioned that if a country that has a government is hindered by oppression, it is far worse than if the same behaviors were to occur on its own, since the people create and support the government, and are therefore financing their own poor condition. Paine insist that if all people could act morally, then government would not be necessary but, because humans have errant tendencies, government becomes a necessity to the protection of well-being and property. Paine was sincere when he exclaimed, “ We have it in our power to begin the world over again.” Paine insists on a small government unlike the tyranny in Britain where its dysfunctionality and unfair governing had caused extreme resentment. Ruling another country from an oceans distance was simply not practical, nor did Paine find it necessary. Instead representation (and not monarchy) is essential to “ the strength of government and happiness of the governed” (Paine). The government's primary function is to restrain evil in man albeit, “ a necessary evil.” Paine's persuasive and urgent tone in his writing in Common Sense created an environment where debate was openly conversed about involving revolution which eventually summed up some of the very reasons to revolt. The colonies had become its own

When understanding Thomas Paine's Common Sense it clear that Paine is fighting for American independence. However, his arguments where more complex and more general about government and religion based off of the set of circumstancse in the colonies. In addition, Paine determines the aspects between governement and society as a whole. According to Paine, "society is everything constructive and good that people join together to accomplish." Althoguh Paine belived that the government on the other hand was more like an confined institution with the purpsoe to only protect our own moral downfalls.

The book “Common Sense” written by Thomas Paine in 1776, and the Declaration of Independence were both documents written to address our Colonial disputes with England. Common Sense examines how Americans defended the right to resist unjust laws, and how this right of resistance was transformed into a right of revolution. It examines Thomas Paine’s views on the difference between society and government. The Declaration of Independence has great significance to the colonial population because it justified our right to revolt against a government that no longer guaranteed us our natural rights. The Declaration of Independence also helped us to get increased foreign assistance from France in our fight to become free from England. With this information

Burke also argued against natural rights and explained a custom and practice that develops relation between the government and people. Paine believed in equality and criticised the monarch being chosen by the hereditary succession and by the choice of the people. He wanted the British Constitution to be written because he saw it as not right, and it was brought in during the Glorious Revolution in 1688.

Throughout Common Sense, Thomas Paine shows that he is against Monarchical government, and he says that the government type itself is not a reasonable means of ruling a nation. To support this, he sheds light on several reasons in which a monarchy is a bad choice for government. Paine says that all the power is unbalanced and vested in the hands of a single person, which most of the time leads to the King of the nation using the powers he has, against his people, for the benefit of himself, and those around him. Paine also says that to have hereditary succession of a monarch is complete nonsense. Paine uses his reason to support this case by showing that maybe a nation is lucky and has a well fit ruler as a King, but who is to say the King’s successor will be best fit for the position of King or Queen of a country. The notion that one ruler is fair and just, does NOT guarantee that the successor will be as just or as fair.

Constitution is the basic principles and laws of a nation, state or social groups that determine the powers and duties of the government and guarantee certain rights to the citizen (Merriam-Webster online dictionary, n.d). In other words, it is a set of guidelines for a government to exercise the given power.

Before 1994 South Africa was a country based on Apartheid rules and regulations. The Parliament was the highest legislative body and it interpreted laws as it pleased, mostly in favour of ‘white Christians’. Any other race or religion was treated in an unfair and sometimes inhumane way. These laws were mainly based on Roman-Dutch law and influenced by English law.