Thomas Paine's Common Sense

Through Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, it is clear that he found many flaws in the monarchy governmental system. He argues that a government’s sole purpose is to protect its people’s lives, liberty, and property (Paine). This leads him to speak about the corruption and flaws in a monarchy. He also makes the point that “A government of our own is our own natural right” (Paine). He uses these concepts to make a basis of comparison of Great Britain’s past to how the government of the colonies should be set up.


When Paine speaks of the monarchy of Britain, he states that through the entire time of its ruling, there have been many corrupt kings. He does admit that there have been good rulers, but there are too many bad ones to truly believe that the ruling is just overall (Paine). This is a problem that all governments, and even on a more simple level, organizations, have; at some point or another, a ruler will want more power. It is part of human nature to have a desire for absolute power and control. This is what creates one of the major flaws in the monarchy of Great Britain.


Another way that Paine supports his thoughts is through a comparison of a king to a lion. He says that nature disproves the idea of hereditary rights of kings because all too often, there is an “ass for a lion” (Paine). The simple use of a comparison of something from nature is extremely effective, because of its simplicity. Most of the time, a very simple means of arguing a point is actually the most effective overall, and Thomas Paine seems to understand this. There will always be times where there are bad leaders as there are times when there are bad leaders simply in nature with other animals.


Another way that Paine supports his ideas is through a historical reference to Thomas Anello, a fisherman from Naples that became king in a day (Paine). Like use of a simple comparison from nature, the use of historical events to support an idea are extremely effective. He supports his idea that having a government is the right of all human beings. He says that all men, when thinking of human affairs will realize that it is wise for there to be a constitution to govern (Paine). He relates the story of Thomas Anello by saying that situations like that must be omitted because there are always obscurities in what happens to a society or government.


Thomas Paine’s Common Sense presents many ideas about the government and overall state of colonies. He presents many ideas about how corrupted the monarchy of Great Britain. In this article, Paine supports his ideas in many different ways. He uses the simple statement of the flaws of the British Monarchy, a comparison to the natural world, as well as historical references. All of these methods are extremely effective in supporting the concepts and ideas about the government and society of the colonies.





Works Cited

Paine, Thomas. "Common Sense." Archiving Early America. Online. 17 Oct. 2010. .