Thomas Paine Government

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

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

Thomas Paine believed that the selection of Kings was unnatural because people are born into being Kings and nothing assures that the person will be a good leader. Just because your father was a good leader does not mean that you will be one. Paine states that nature would disapprove it, and that we should not give mankind “an ass for a lion”1. He says that when we were created we were all created equal. The British had so much control no one could do anything about it. They could not overcome the government and it made the colonists feel useless. This is exactly why Paine criticized the monarchial government because they were indeed doing everything unfairly and doing it only to benefit themselves.

This example is just one of many that Paine provides explaining his positives view of society and negative impact of the government. This example as well as the others help provide support to his main point of changing governments because it provides a reason on why he wants it changed, it shows that

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).

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

In the previous paragraph, although Paine talked about the flaws that come into play in a government that is run by a single ruler, he then talked about how having a ruler may be inevitable and provides an example of how it may work. Though Paine doesn't argue against having a ruler to the fullest extent due to the amount of oppressive that is seen through having single rulers, he feels that there should be someone in charge but have equal power with other parties, therefore that single person isn't in complete control. According to Paine, " Let the assemblies be annual, with a President only. The representation more equal. Their business wholly domestic, and subject to the authority of a Continental Congress." This shows Paine's thinking on producing a government with equality. In this example, there will be representation from all aspects and people, so they can and will be part of the decision-making as well as the President. Thomas Paine's theory on creating a government with a higher power which is surrounded by equality can flourish due to the elimination of oppression, tyranny, and abuse of power.

That type of government in which he proposed was representative democracy. He introduces this idea by saying “LET the assemblies be annual, with a President only. The representation more equal. Their business wholly, domestic, and subject to the authority of a Continental Congress.”(pg. 96) Paine is indicating that the American colonies must gain their independence and cut off ties from Britain. He provides counterarguments and rebuttals to show that his reasoning behind America gaining independence is valid and crucial. He challenges a particular assertion that he has heard by some which says “…America hath flourished under her former connexion with Great-Britain…the same connexion is necessary towards her future happiness.” He rebuts this counterargument by using an analogy of a child thriving on milk. Because the child has thrived on milk does not mean it should never have meat, he essentially says. Britain has never had America’s best interest at heart, they treated the colonies as a piece of property and nothing more. Paine suggests that if America breaks its ties with Britain, there will be no need for Britain to defend them against the rest of the world. The reason being that if America becomes a trade partner that is mutually beneficial and adequate enough with the other countries in Europe, no individual country will allow it to fall because they would prefer to keep America free. He stresses that “A government of our own is our natural

Paine's viewpoint is stated strongly and unequivocally. He believes that the only way the thirteen colonies can thrive is to obtain their independence from Great Britain. He states his reasons at the outset quite clearly, and from the wording, it is argued quite persuasively that in his view, there is really no acceptable option but to fight for independence. Paine does not believe that government is a desirable force in a country, but that it is a necessary one. One of his initial arguments is that because of mankind's basic "impulses of conscience," government is required to keep law and order in the land: "For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform, and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other lawgiver" (Paine, 1776, p. 19). In Paine's view, then, to live

Another reason that Paine thinks that the colonies should break away from Great Britain because they can keep a great relationship with other countries. The reading talks a lot about reconciliation. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, reconciliation is the restoration of friendly relations. Because the way Great Britain is set up, Paine

Paine uses a number of arguments to support his belief that the American colonies would be better off as an independent nation. First of all, he believes that the argument to rectify relations with England is unfair, as though she is referred to as America’s ‘mother country,’ she has to right to be referred to as such. The colonies were composed of numerous nationalities, not just Englishmen. In fact, “Not one third of the inhabitants, even of this province are of English descent.” The fact that the British do not even compose most of America’s population, coupled with the fact that Paine believes her behavior towards her ‘child country’ to be worse than that of a brute’s, causes Paine to believe that referring to England as the mother country

Paine states that society and government are completely different in purpose and also different in origin. Society is created innocently for the people's happiness although the government is poison but necessary product made by desires of people to

Paine represents the idea of no king is god, which he explains “That the king is not to trusted without being looked after…that the thirst for absolute power is the natural disease of monarchy” and also “there were no kings; the consequence of which was there were no wars; it is the pride of kings which throw mankind into confusion”. These are the things that the newly formed patriots were influence to provide a better government for themselves. There is John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government, Of the State of

Paine gives two points to support his idea of this; one is the fact that the King can pass any law he wants upon America because he still has absolute power. He states this because he thinks the notion of this is completely wrong because he says that a twenty-one year old youth is not wiser than some the millions and millions of people he serves. Thomas Paine’s second point is that America needs a new form of government the kind of “The Law Is King'; instead of the king is the law to make America be a free country. In this point Paine also states that there would be civil unrest unless there is a government in America. The example of the government he gives is the continental form of government. He says that this form of government will keep peace in America.

Thomas Paine, the man who helped inspire a revolution, the man who wrote controversial pamphlets and rousing songs that kept soldiers fighting, the man who was one of the greatest supporters of human rights, held, in his heart, the belief that the American government system was so flawlessly formed that their were no causes for discord. While Thomas Paine’s ideal may certainly have been correct in 1791, it is no longer. The American government system, and those who make it, has been compromised. They’ve been traded, sold, and (most importantly) bought, by those who have the mean to do so; creating a system where the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and where privilege is defined as being white and male. Theses issues are inarguably cause