Common Sense, by Thomas Paine

 Common Sense 

By Thomas Paine 

 

Preview:   

Thomas Paine’s book, first published anonymously in the form of a pamphlet, is believed to be the source of major inspiration behind the American Revolution. Published in 1776, a year before the revolution began; the book became a rage in no time and continues to be a best-seller even today. The short book that became an immediate sensation was read out aloud at political demonstrations and rallies, and hence, can be deemed as the manifesto to the American Revolution. Common Sense advocates America’s independence from British rule and encourages people from the Thirteen Colonies to fight against the colonisers’ oppression and for an egalitarian government.  

 

About the Author:   

Born in England in 1737, Thomas Paine migrated to the United States of America, with the help of Benjamin Franklin. Paine wrote pamphlets, namely, Common Sense and The American Crisis, which became extremely important. He participated and motivated people to declare independence from the tyrannical rule of Great Britain. Paine later went on to participate in The French Revolution as well and wrote The Rights of Man concerning the subject. He was deeply influenced by the philosophy of Enlightenment and hence, spoke for transnational humanism. In later years, Paine went on to advocate free thought and criticised institutionalised religion heavily. It was because of his criticisms of Christianity, that he was ostracized from society even in his very own America.  

 

The Big Idea: Explore the argument for self-government in the form of a representative democracy 

Paine's arguments in the book are in the context of the American Revolution and their people's oppression at the hands of the British. However, the text has overarching applicability to most countries. 

 The reasons why millions of people might unanimously claim to free a region from the rule of a country have been stated in clear points. The four chapters of the book deal both with theoretical assumptions and practical solutions. A region that has remained under the rule of a certain sovereign, will ultimately rise against it if it has been oppressed for too long.  

The politics of governance along with an extremely biased taxation system in the colonies of America, finally made its people rise in revolt and declare independence from the rule of Great Britain.  

Why is a government necessary and how should free nations choose to govern themselves? Read the book to find all this and more. 

 After reading this quid, you will:  

• Know about the necessity of having a government 
• Know how a tyrannical ruler will inevitably fail 
• Understand the problems of monarchy 

Our state of nature necessitates a Government for our society. 

A society is an entity that is formed by people in order to achieve something. This definition of society has been used by later academicians belonging to different schools of thought as well. So, society has a sense of spontaneity in it, since the people take it upon themselves to be together. 

The State of Nature refers to a hypothetical time before any organized society was formed. Since the words ‘society’ and ‘organized’ are almost synonymous, it can very well be assumed that in a time before society existed, that is, in a state of nature, there would be unorganized tendencies prevalent in people.  

Even though the structure of a government is in its entirety a structure of imposition, if a society is left without a government, anarchic tendencies amongst the people might show up and cause problems. The role of the government is to rule out anarchic tendencies by enforcing a rule of law and keep society in harmony. The task of law-making would be better handled by the people who form the society, rather than a body of people far removed from them.  

Although the government can be seen as a barrier in a free-flowing society, it is a necessary evil. The goal of a government is to protect lives, property, and liberty. Whether a government is good or bad should be judged on the extent to which it has been able to reach its goal. In a nutshell, there is not much reason to advocate the formation of a government, an apparatus to suppress people, but it is a necessary evil that maintains harmony. 

American independence was inevitable 

If we consider the case of America, as it was then, it can be seen as an almost unknown geographical landmass that was mostly uninhabited except for a very little indigenous population. People from Great Britain started coming to this place after it was discovered and began to settle here.  

They built cities, villages, infrastructures, and so on, just like civilization is created from scratch. But this settlement remained under the rule of Great Britain as the people who had come to settle here were mostly the citizens of Britain. The people of America, under the bureaucratic control of Britain, had no clear voice to talk about their opinion in any matter of the world. The people of America were deprived of their rights and basic requirements.  

The situation demanded of them that they do something to end this dilemma of being a part of a country that ruled them and yet gave no importance to them. There were two things that could be done. Either, America could convince Britain to provide them with their basic rights and continue being a part of Britain. Or, they could simply break away from them and claim independence. The first option could have been an easier one, as claiming independence from a country needs active participation from each citizen.  

Although merging with Britain could be an easy as well as comfortable option, had America done so, Britain would inevitably continue with the oppression. So, the people of America had to rise up against British rule and claim their independence as a country.  

The Vices of Monarchy and the boon of representation 

Since man was born in a state of nature, all men used to be equal. The present inequality thus has to be of man-made origin: The division of the ruler and his subjects.  

Even the Bible asserts that only God is the ruler of this world and that a mortal ruler in the form of a king is sinful. God had always been in opposition with the idea of monarchy. Now, the question of hereditary succession is even worse, because a king should be chosen because of his qualities. His successors may never have the same good qualities as him if they are merely anointed by way of inheritance. If one person is chosen to be the king, the subsequent rulers should also be chosen by the people. This can easily be proved if a closer look is given at the British royal dynasty. The recent kings had not been very good to their subjects and were of no use.  

It is to be noted that a king gets his ultimate power because of any of the three reasons: election, selection, or usurpation. If a king is elected by his subjects, then all subsequent kings should also be elected. If a king is selected on the basis of familial ties, it is possible that the newly selected king is not as able as the former one. And if a king usurps his way to the throne, the process is illegitimate. 

Letting people choose who governs them is far better. This way people can find a way to rule themselves. Of course, the best way to do it is to ask everyone for their opinion before making any governance decision, but this would quickly get out of hand as the number of people increases. Hence, the best solution is to have a representative body of people who can form the government and govern on behalf of the people themselves. 

 Since the representatives would soon get out of touch with the common men, they must be kept on their toes by holding regular elections, so that they keep in touch with their voters. 

 

Position of America: Some Practical Propositions 

When a new country is formed, it faces a number of difficulties in terms of economic and foreign affairs. Paine argued that America should also consider all the possibilities in this regard, before revolting against Britain.  

Britain safeguarded America when other European countries had earlier tried to exercise their power. Britain also helped run America smoothly in terms of the economy. There are many instances where colonies have flourished under British rule. So, it wouldn’t be an easy decision. 

But, it is also to be noted that the colonies that had flourished or had been economically sound, were all used for the British Empire and not for the colonies themselves. The taxes imposed on America was crippling its people while the English were getting rich. So, if America decided to reconcile and stay with the British, they would have gotten to stay in a bureaucratic bubble, which would have protected it from other countries, but all the money from its people would have gone to Britain.  

If America decided to break away from Britain, other European countries that had been trying to exert power on America would naturally change sides, as they were originally Britain’s enemy.  

Therefore, it was in America's interest to break away. 

Final Summary: 

The pamphlet consists of four chapters namely ‘On the Origin and Design of Government in General, with Concise Remarks on the English Constitution’, ‘Of Monarchy and Hereditary succession’, ‘Thoughts on the Present State of American Affair’ and ‘On the Present Ability of America: With Some Miscellaneous Reflections’. The text derives strength in its argument from natural law and God's will and proposes America's independence from Great Britain. It asserts that the best form of rule is that of an elected government of the people's representatives, who are chosen at frequent intervals.