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Tags: History of Ideas, Lang:en
Summary
This volume collects together the most important writings of
founding father Thomas Paine. First published on January 10,
1776, “Common Sense” was one the most influential
and best-selling works from the colonial period. One of the
central political arguments amongst the colonists of the
pre-revolutionary period was whether or not they should seek
freedom from British rule. In “Common Sense”, Paine
provided a straightforward argument to the American people as
to why they should seek independence. Second in this volume is
“The Crisis”, a collection of pamphlets published
during the American Revolutionary war which were meant to
inspire the soldiers and reinforce the reasons for the fight.
Third is the “Rights of Man” a refutation of Edmund
Burke’s “Reflections on the Revolution in
France” in which Paine argues that popular political
revolution is necessary when a government does not protect the
natural rights of its people. Fourth in this book is
Paine’s “The Age of Reason”, a controversial
work arguing for the philosophical position of Deism, which
challenged institutionalized religion and the legitimacy of the
Bible. Lastly there is the socialist treatise “Agrarian
Justice”, in which Paine argues that land owners owe a
rent to society in order to fund universal old-age and
disability pensions as well as to provide a fixed sum to all
citizens upon reaching maturity. This edition includes a
biographical afterword. **