Thomas Paine's Common Sense Criticism

Well let me just start by saying that I was quite overwhelmed by Thomas Paine's writing style, and it took me a really long time to understand what exactly he was trying to say throughout his article. I gathered he was talking about government for a while and the human race and its flaws, but I do agree with some of his points.

Thomas Paine is quoted saying,

"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamities is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer! Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise. For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform, and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other lawgiver; but that not being the case, he finds it necessary to surrender up a part of his property to furnish means for the protection of the rest; and this he is induced to do by the same prudence which in every other case advises him out of two evils to choose the least. Wherefore, security being the true design and end of government, it unanswerably follows that whatever form thereof appears most likely to ensure it to us, with the least expense and greatest benefit, is preferable to all others" (Paine).

I agree with Paine's statement here because he is saying how corrupt the government actually is, and how it does not agree with the people of the country. The government makes us do things that we really do not want to do, but we are forced to do them because we do not want to get in trouble. Therefore, I see already that the government is corrupt, and has been ever since, in some way, shape, or form.

Paine goes on to talk about the size of the government body, which I found interesting and I totally agree with. Paine says,

"But as the colony increases, the public concerns will increase likewise, and the distance at which the members may be separated, will render it too inconvenient for all of them to meet on every occasion as at first, when their number was small, their habitations near, and the public concerns few and trifling. This will point out the convenience of their consenting to leave the legislative part to be managed by a select number chosen from the whole body, who are supposed to have the same concerns at stake which those have who appointed them, and who will act in the same manner as the whole body would act were they present" (Paine).

I very much agree with this statement, because the smaller the government body is, the easier it will be to come to a conclusion, in my opinion. The meetings would be a lot more productive, and everyone would get their say in the matter. Also, if there are less people, the government officials should have similar mindsets, according to Paine (Paine).

So although it took me a little while to fully comprehend what exactly Paine was trying to convey, I think I got a slight idea of what he was talking about in his article about common sense.



Paine, Thomas. Common Sense. Printed by W. and T. Bradford, Philadelphia, 1791. accessed October 16, 2010.