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what is Paine's view point on monarchy?
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Thomas Paine strongly rejected monarchy and hereditary rule. His main points:
- Illegitimate and unjust: He argued hereditary succession is absurd — it gives power based on accident of birth rather than merit or consent.
- Dangerous to liberty: Monarchy concentrates power in one person/family, encouraging tyranny, corruption, privilege, and oppression.
- Rooted in superstition and arrogance: He saw royal claims as based on false notions of divine right and social deference, not reason or justice.
- Economically and politically harmful: Monarchy and aristocracy lead to war, standing armies, and burdensome taxation to support rulers’ interests.
- Alternative: Paine advocated representative republican government based on natural rights, equality before the law, and popular sovereignty.
Key texts: Common Sense (1776) and Rights of Man (1791–92). For example, in Common Sense he wrote that “Of more worth is one honest man to society, and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived,” summarizing his rejection of kingship.
- Illegitimate and unjust: He argued hereditary succession is absurd — it gives power based on accident of birth rather than merit or consent.
- Dangerous to liberty: Monarchy concentrates power in one person/family, encouraging tyranny, corruption, privilege, and oppression.
- Rooted in superstition and arrogance: He saw royal claims as based on false notions of divine right and social deference, not reason or justice.
- Economically and politically harmful: Monarchy and aristocracy lead to war, standing armies, and burdensome taxation to support rulers’ interests.
- Alternative: Paine advocated representative republican government based on natural rights, equality before the law, and popular sovereignty.
Key texts: Common Sense (1776) and Rights of Man (1791–92). For example, in Common Sense he wrote that “Of more worth is one honest man to society, and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived,” summarizing his rejection of kingship.
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