Rights Of Man Common Sense And Other Political Writings

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An army of principles will penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot.. .it will march on the horizon of the world & it will conquer. Thomas Paine was the first international revolutionary. His Common Sense (1776) was the most widely read pamphlet of the American Revolution; his Rights of Man (1791-2) was the most famous defence of the French Revolution & sent out a clarion call for revolution throughout the world. He paid the price for his principles: he was outlawed in Britain narrowly escaped execution in France & was villified as an atheist & a Jacobin on his return to America. Paine loathed the unnatural inequalities fostered by the hereditary & monarchical systems. He believed that government must be by & for the people & must limit itself to the protection of their natural rights. But he was not a libertarian: from a commitment to natural rights he generated one of the first blueprints for a welfare state combining a liberal order of civil rights with egalitarian constraints. This collection brings together Paines most powerful political writings from the American & French revolutions in the first fully annotated edition of these works. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford Worlds Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxfords commitment to scholarship providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features including expert introductions by leading authorities helpful notes to clarify the text up-to-date bibliographies for further study & much more.