Thomas Paine Collection
Common Sense, The Age of Reason, and The Rights of Man
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Thomas Paine Collection
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Narrated by:
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John York
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By:
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Thomas Paine
Witness the compelling and fascinating works of the man who inspired the American revolution.
Renowned for his political genius, philosophical wisdom, and artful prose, Thomas Paine is a legendary figure in American history whose legacy has shaped the course of the United States as we know it. His influential works became best sellers in their time and continue to touch the hearts and minds of millions of fans to this very day.
This eye-opening collection presents three of Paine’s most important writings, providing modern listeners with both an inspiring glimpse into the past and compelling philosophical arguments concerning deism, human rights, egalitarianism, and independence.
Inside, you’ll discover:
- Common Sense, a powerful and impassioned call to action which urges the 13 states to fight for their independence and form an egalitarian government
- The Age of Reason, the three-part best seller which champions the religious position of deism and challenges organized religion
- The Rights of Man, an enlightening text in support of the French Revolution which defines and defends the fundamental rights and liberties of its people
If you’re searching for an incredible philosophical collection which formed one of the foundations of 17th-century thought, or if you want to explore the profoundly persuasive arguments and viewpoints of the man who inspired the American War of Independence, then this collection is for you.
As a man who faced prison, ostracizing, and constant ridicule for his beliefs and criticisms, Thomas Paine is a testament to resilience and standing up for what you believe in.
Public Domain (P)2020 Flâneur MediaSeen at this distance, though not a flawed argument at heart, there is much supporting material which with hindsight proves historically incorrect or unproven.
‘Common sense’ is often used as a way of closing down arguments or at least starting from unproven assumptions. And so it is for Paine here, who starts his (ultimately correct ) arguments with some false assumptions, the key one being the mature of the English monarchy vis a vis actual power in the 16c.
Likewise he refers to Holland and Switzerland as effectively free of war because of their Republican nature. It wasn’t true then and time has only further proved it, Republics (e.g the US) are no less likely to wage war.
It is also interesting to note how he cites Biblical precedence in ways which while perhaps still appealing to those US citizens today who profess to being Christians, is less compelling for those of us who look to secularism as a key aspect of modern democratic States.
I have previously come to understand that this pamphlet was a forceful part of the key shift in perspective for many revolutionaries when it was published because it shifted the argument from specifics around taxes, representation etc, to a new and fundamentally different on; i.e. that the structure/nature of the ‘Mother’ State, was inherently wrong, and that there was an alternative and now was its time.
This perhaps explains its very personal focus on The King and both his positions and what Paine supposes was his personality. Elsewhere I have read that support for independence was often weak because of loyalty to the King (monarchical system) whom people were able to believe (rightly or wrongly) was not necessarily party to what they saw as oppressive governance. Paine disabuses readers of any such notion, and in any case, clearly feels that his treatise is as relevant to British subjects in the UK as it is to those in the colonies.
I suppose the lost stars are really because when one reflects on the reality of the last 250 years, we see how often and how badly, the Republic has failed to live up to Paine’s expectations.
But rather like the pamphlet, though flawed in its sense of self and its own sometimes tortured reality, it remains at heart the great idea, an objective worth pursuing and in many ways Paine’s great idea at least in part fulfilled and his paper remains to inspire us to cleave to the task and fulfill it completely.
‘Common Sense’ reviewed
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