Question

Read the excerpt of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, “Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession.” Write a paragraph (typed, double-spaced please) carefully explaining at least one reason Thomas Paine believes monarchy to be a terrible form of government. Be sure to include several SPECIFIC examples from the book.

Answer 1

• Paine begins by distinguishing between government and society. Society, according to Paine, is everything constructive and good that people join together to accomplish.
• Government, on the other hand, is an institution whose sole purpose is to protect us from our own vices. Government has its origins in the evil of man and is therefore a necessary evil at best. Paine says that government's sole purpose is to protect life, liberty and property, and that a government should be judged solely on the basis of the extent to which it accomplishes this goal.
• Paine then considers an imagined scenario in which a small group of people has been placed on an island, and cut off from the rest of society. In time, these people develop ties with one another, and lawmaking becomes inevitable. Paine says the people will be much happier if they are responsible for the creation of the laws that rule them.
  
• Paine says the British system is too complex and rife with contradictions, and that the monarchy is granted far too much power. The British system pretends to offer a reasonable system of checks and balances, but in fact, it does not.
• The conclusion Paine reaches is that the practice of monarchy originates from sin, and is an institution that the Bible and God condemn.
• Paine does not agree with the position the king is put in because it does not align with the responsibilities a king should take on. “It excludes a man from the means of information, yet empowers him to act in cases where the highest judgement is required”.A king is isolated and hold a superior status to the subjects, yet he is trusted to solve the problems of people with whom he does not interact or share commonalities with. Paine see’s thisas completely absurd. Paine also suggested that the monarchy stemmed from sin and “was first introduced into the world by heathens”.