The Rights of Man by Thomas Paine - Book Report/Review Example

Order 294694 Topic: The rights of man by Thomas Paine Introduction: Hereditary governments ruled the people in many important nations during the 18th century, and Thomas Paine’s strong feelings against them are detailed in the book, “Common Sense, The Rights of Man and Other Essential Writings.” He compares the villainy of the hereditary governments while profusely praising and defending the benefits of a constitutional republic. Any government has to change with the times and its duty is to fulfill the aspirations of the people. This is the strong silken thread that runs throughout his writings, which inspired the French and American revolutions. Common sense: The contents of this part are highly educative and students will stand to gain a lot as they provide a new orientation to their thinking process and values in life. Thomas Paine was a prominent figure in the founding of the United Sates. But the same country ignored him when he was a prisoner in France. His intellectual caliber was too advanced for his age—the late 18th century. His ideas about democracy may be common place in the 21st century. But in those times, they kindled the spirit of the people to fight for independence. The book gives the reader the feelings of the masses during the revolutionary period. Paine elucidates the role of the common man in forming the government and how to live in harmony with his fellow beings. It is the duty of citizens to preserve freedom and imbibe the values cherished by the founding fathers. Establishing some thing great is difficult; many sacrifices are needed for that. But to maintain what has been achieved, is more difficult. Nevertheless, it is the duty to be performed as otherwise, the very concepts of democracy and freedom will be in peril. It is like living in slavery, without being actually a slave! Paine lays the solid foundation for the subsequent onslaught on the prevailing systems. In a language that is the mixture of firmness and harshness, Paine explains elaborately the conditions of the colonies, in this part of the book. His opposition to hereditary rule is unconditional and total. He mocks at the limitations imposed on individuals by George III, opposes and condemns all such measures. His contempt towards aristocrats and kings is showing. He demands the dissolution of the institution of nobility for many reasons. "Because the idea of hereditary legislation is as inconsistent...and absurd as an hereditary mathematician....Because it is continuing the uncivilized principle of governments founded in conquest, and the base idea of man having property over man, and governing him by personal right" (83). He was not a friend of tradition and severely criticized Burke for defending the notion of "...hereditary rights, and hereditary succession, and that a Nation has not a right to form a Government for itself" (Paine, p.116).He welcomed the French Constitution for eradicating the titles to the Catholic Church and it "...hath abolished or renounced Toleration, and Intolerance also, hath established UNIVERSAL RIGHT OF CONSCIENCE" (p.85).Finally, Paine unleashed a most scathing attack against Burkes suggestion that France should reform its absolutist monarchy into a benign form of constitutional monarchy similar to what Britain enjoyed. "All hereditary government is in its nature tyranny." (p.172). "It occasionally puts children over men and the conceits of non-age over wisdom and experience. In short, we cannot conceive a more ridiculous figure of government than hereditary succession." (173). The Crisis: These are essays of motivational speech and honey-tongued ridicule or satire as one may call it. This part of the book contains some of the essential writings, along with the pamphlets, The Crisis, part one of The Age of Reason, and selections about Agrarian Justice. These mainly relate to the economic and social conditions of the period in which Paine lived, and how he argued about breaking ties with the motherland was absolutely essential for forging a free nation. His writings were not only meant for improving the conditions in USA, England and France, but for the aspiring democracies all over the world. "But all those writings and many others had their weight; and by the different manner in which they treated the subject of government...by their moral maxims and systems of economy, readers of every class met with something to their taste" (Paine, 94). When you think of Paine, the contents of the 1776 pamphlet must float in the minds of the readers. How reason scores over superstitious hypocrisy! Rights of Man: This part is divided in two parts, on the basis of its contents. One, attack on Edmund Burke’s reflections on the revolution in France and the second part is assertion of Paine’s political theory. Commentary on distinction between natural and civil rights! Eighteenth century was the Age of Enlightenment. For the first time, humanity had begun to challenge the religious dogmatism. Fight against political tyranny was taking shape. Paine strongly believed that the rights of man are inclusive. “….all the intellectual rights, or rights of the mind, and also all those rights of acting as an individual for his own comfort and happiness, which are not injurious to the natural rights of others." ( p. 68). Paine was equivocal in criticizing Burke and rebuked him for his argument that the enactments of previous generations had the authority to bind citizens for all time to come. Burke mentioned about the English Parliament of 1688, which he eulogized as the model type of reform, the French citizens need to emulate. Paine hit back instantly. "Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself, in all cases, as the ages and generations which preceded it. The vanity and presumption of governing beyond the grave, is the most ridiculous and insolent of all tyrannies." (p. 41-42). According to Paine, the understanding of Burke as for French socio-political and economic problems up to 1789 was very poor. The French Revolution was not mere the revolt against the King. It was against the overall system. "Between the monarchy, the parliament, and the church, there was a rival ship of despotism, besides the feudal despotism operating locally, and the ministerial despotism operating everywhere." (p.48). Burke tried to defend the indefensible, like the lifestyles of nobility, the ways of the Church, the imbalances in the monarchial rule—Paine demolished all this in France’s new constitution that he visualized. He gave detailed analysis about the possible solutions for the eradication of poverty and furnished the blueprint for creating social and political institutions. The Age of Reason: In 1793, the revolutionary France beheaded its king. “The wrath turned next upon the King of kings, by whose grace every tyrant claimed to reign. But eventualities had brought among them a great English and American heart--Thomas Paine. He had pleaded for Louis Caper--"Kill the king but spare the man." Now he pleaded,--"Disbelieve in the King of kings, but do not confuse with that idol the Father of Mankind!"(The Age of…) The Age of Reason resulted in the most unreasonable thing that can happen to a writer. In 1793, Paine described a situation when a guard came to him about three in the morning with an order of arrest signed by two Committees of Public Safety and Surety General. That was the type of strong reaction of ‘unreason’ for Paine’s The Age of Reason! Readers will come to know through the contents of this book, what great sacrifices were made to build the nation. When Paine talks about the rights of people, we are reminded, how intelligently the present governments try to suppress, sometimes with arm-twisting methods, their rights, and what responses are needed from the people to defeat them. He directs severe criticism against Burke for his suggestion for reforming its absolutist monarchy to a benevolent form of constitutional monarchy, comparable to Britain. Paine is equivocal in his condemnation of the system. He writes, “All hereditary government is in its nature tyranny" (172). "It occasionally puts children over men and the conceits of non-age over wisdom and experience. In short, we cannot conceive a more ridiculous figure of government, than hereditary succession." (173.) The book was seriously noted by all the affected people and the ruling Church. A large number of intellectuals took part in the debate emanating from its publication. Many concessions followed from the theological side, which continues to this date, and the concept of “Broad Church” can be attributed to the after-shocks generated by “The Age of Reason.” The book as a whole: The clash of opinions and views of two intellectual giants produces stunning literature. The Rights of Man by Thomas Paine saw the light of the day, as a consequential action to the publication of “Reflections o the Revolution in France” in 1790 by Edmund Burke. Many friends of the Revolution were shocked by the outbursts of Burke condemning the Revolution. His friends saw contradictions in the writings of Burke. Earlier he had the reputation as a liberal Whig, and a brilliant parliamentary supporter of the American Revolution. Thomas Paine could not take into his stride the stand taken by Burke. His book on support to American independence, “Common Sense” was a bestseller. Paine thought he was duty-bound to contradict Burke and defend the Revolution of the French. The Rights of Man was published in 1790, soon after Burke’s Reflections. In the initial part, you find Paine on the offensive. He does it with subtle aggression and with humor. Mention of the rumor of Burke receiving pension from George III, is one of the highly circulated jokes. Another rejoinder by Paine is to Burke’s assertion of government by consent and then he makes a reductio ad absurdum on the statement. The assertion and the contradiction, both look absurd. Paine pretends that he does not understand the issue and makes the sarcastic reference to “the paradoxical genius of Mr. Burke.” Paine finds Burke propounding heredity government, indefensible and he takes on the offensive. Burke derives his logic through queer interpretation of the democratic principles when he avers about the legitimacy of the government to the ascension of William and Mary. According to him, it is perfect because Parliament passed a resolution crediting them and their heirs for all time to come, as the rulers of England. Paine almost hits below the belt, when he strongly states that even if the Parliament had a right to invite “that Dutch Stadtholder” to ascend the throne as the King, they can not extend the cordial invitation to the line of rulers, which means they have assumed the right to pass laws that cannot be countermanded. Why they can not pass a law permitting them to live for ever, asks Paine! Burke’s book has done one important service to the thinkers and intellectuals. It made Paine go deeply into the main issue of the rights of man, and other ancillary details. Apart from the refutations of Burke’s arguments, the book is an exposition of the rights of man, and the details of an action plan to apply those rights to reform the English Government. How can the rights are granted, questions Paine! If they can be granted, they can be revoked by the granting authority or any other authority competent to do so. If they can be revoked, they are not rights, but privileges. Paine goes into the origins of rights in nature and strongly opines that it is the duty of the government to protect them. The dead can not leave rules that are to be permanently followed by the living. The voluntary associations of human beings will be formed depending on the necessity of the people and of the time, for the sole benefit of the society. Any institution in a country that does not stand to benefit the nation is illegitimate. Having said this, Paine arrives at the profound conclusion. Such institutions could be king and his nobility, the military establishment which works hand in glove with other institutions, and they collude together to protect own power and revenue, it takes the form of vested interest. Even if the wars are won, what assurance is there that they stand to benefit the nation and its people, asks Paine. After a thorough rebuttal of Burke’s assertions, Paine projects his plan aimed at the reformation of the English Government in the concluding part of the book. He demands for the creation of the written English Constitution, and suggests that it can be drafted on the American Model. He has no soft corner for monarchy, is court, and the huge assembly of nobility that does not serve any purpose, and pleads for abolition of all titles in England, as was done by America and France. He calls the monarchy, the despotism of the family, which breeds aristocracy. Paine demands change in the entire system and outlook of the people and calls for total transformation in all areas. Having detailed the changes in the system, he wants more measures for the reformation and ‘rehabilitation’ of the system. The steps suggested by him point towards an alliance with France and America. This is to send signals to its primary enemies. The conglomeration of these nations would force others to disarm. This would result in England saving a huge amount of money on her army and navy. This is not possible as long as England has a King, according to Paine. The reason tendered by him is simple and straightforward. The primary aim of King and his entourage is to look out for increase in revenue, and wars provide an opportunity to enhance taxes, dispose of monopoly rights, seizure of food stocks, and actively interfere in the economy with ill-conceived objectives. Demonetization measures also hurt the common citizen; at the same time all these measures fill the treasury controlled by the King. If wars are eliminated along with aristocracy, Paine mentions of several social welfare measures that can be implemented with the money saved for abolition and reduction in many taxes on coal, wagons, and female servants and on windows! Paine’s concern for social welfare measures is profound. They were drafted in those days to suit the designs of the aristocracy, and in real terms, the benefit did not reach the poor. The tax to pay for the system is a misnomer, it is called the poor-rate, but the scale is very high. Paine suggests that money saved through the measures indicated by him earlier, to create a new system of a pool of general revenue. He calls for the abolition of the poor-rates. Paine dons the hat of a statistician by giving statistics and tables to prove his arguments. The poor must get the direct benefit, like education of their children, to avail the benefit of private schools. Paine strongly believes that public schools are expensive and impractical. The reactions to the book were on the anticipated lines. The English government threatened the Publisher of The Rights of Man, and tried to arrest Paine. The Government also tried the dubious method, buy the copyright to the book through an intermediary which the government will hold the same and not allow anyone to use. The book was yet published. William Pitt, Prime Minister of England, condemned the book but on the first day of Parliament in that year, many of the tax cuts suggested by Paine in his book were announced. Such was the impact of the book on the government of England and it created a huge upsurge in the thinking process of the people, as for the monarchy. With this book, Paine gained the status of one of the world’s great proponents of democracy. His views provided the philosophical base and rhetorical building blocks for the future Presidents of USA. Read the Constitution of the United States and then read Thomas Paine. You feel, Thomas Paine must have played the major role in drafting the constitution in ‘the de-materialized’ form! His knowledge on the resentment brewing amongst the people leading to the French and American evolutions is astounding. His mastery over difficult subjects like politics, economics and human nature merits special mention Conclusion: Thomas Paine was right then, and he is absolutely right now. Take the example of American Presidential Elections and try to understand the implications of the results in the light of what Paine wrote in his book, in the 1790s. Were the American people tired of big governments and sought a change, to see their inner reflection in the change obtained? Whether it is the Kings or leaders, when they work for self-aggrandizement, forgetting the welfare of people, heads will roll, through revolution or through peaceful elections! ========== Works cited: Paine,Thoms. Common Sense, The Rights of Man and Other Essential Writings of Thomas Paine Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages Publisher: Signet Classics (July 1, 2003) Language: English ISBN-10: 0451528891 ISBN-13: 978-0451528896 The Age of Reason 30 Nov 2005 ... Library: Historical Documents: Thomas Paine: Age of Reason (1795). Editors Introduction To "The Age of Reason" · The Age of Reason - Part 1 Part I - Introduction - Part II www.infidels.org/library/historical/thomas_paine/age_of_reason/ - 11k –Retrieved on April 29, 2009 Read More