Thomas Paine’s first principles built the structure of democracy. The mechanisms central to Paine’s political theories are rooted in his ideology of first principles. The basic foundation of these principles is equality, and as a direct result, justice. If equality is practiced, then people share equal justice.
Thomas Paine: Founder of Modern Democracy: Part 2 Read Post »
Paine—as an English revolutionary and an actor, witness, and interpreter of the Age of Revolutions—developed a democratic vision during the period of the Convention initiated on 9 Thermidor (1794-1795) that distanced him from both Jacobin formulations and practices, and from legislations and speeches by Thermidorian deputies.
Thomas Paine and the French Revolution Read Post »
Paine purposed to realize for every individual, as much as possible, the God-given natural rights and liberty of mankind. Such a goal for any nation, Paine believed, is best and most easily accomplished through the agency of a constitution that by its sequence of adoption and substantive content.
Thomas Paine’s View of Constitutions Read Post »
Thompson’s interpretation underlined Paine’s importance in what was labelled by historians as the ‘Atlantic-Democratic Revolution’. In the 1960s, my undergraduate days, this exercise in comparative history breaking through the constraints of nation state historiography was as fashionable as Thompson’s history from below.
Thomas Paine, the Rights of Man and the Rights of the Freeborn Englishman Read Post »
This fundamental contribution to Paine’s political thought, based on a Ph. D thesis at the Sorbonne, deserves to be translated into English so that it becomes available to all Anglophones interested in the subject.
BOOK REVIEW: La Pensee Politique de Thomas Paine en Contexte: Theorie at Pratique Read Post »
Although both lives have been well chronicled (albeit separately), I hope there may be merit in a short selective account of the most salient features of the common radical ground shared by the two great writers, and its inspiration, a comparison that has attracted scant attention.
How dared Thomas Paine, a man whose formal education had ended at thirteen, who had failed as a skilled craftsman, as a teacher, as a shopkeeper, as a street preacher, as a petty customs official in the Excise, dismissed and a debtor and bankrupt, even dare to think about government?
Read “The Citizen Tom Paine” about Thomas Paine, a stirring call to arms for the democracy lovers worldwide. Explore the lyrics of Martin Green in this revolutionary poem about a man who galvanized patriots and championed liberty and independence against British rule and much besides.
A Poem: Citizen Tom Paine Read Post »
Dr Richard Price was a man of many parts: preacher, moral philosopher, commentator on actuarial and public finance, and ardent campaigner for civil liberties. This essay focuses, for the most part, on his latter activities. One of the most influential radical thinkers of his day, though now little known beyond historians.
Richard Price, Dd., Fsa: Champion Of Civil Liberty Read Post »
Paine offended powerful figures that might have been his patrons. He blamed ex-President Washington for failing to rescue him from prison; and he published a series of letters strongly attacking the Federalist party for failing to hold to the democratic principles of the American Revolution.
An Appreciation and Summary of Thomas Paine’s Classic Age of Reason Read Post »
Thomas Paine’s bridge of diplomacy, both as a practical bridge and as a symbolic bridge between nations and political eras, centred on his proposal for a single span iron bridge braced by strong abutments cast from nature in the design of a spider’s web.
Thomas Paine and the Iron Bridge of Diplomacy Read Post »
The writings, thoughts and indeed the eventful life of Thomas Paine regularly leaves an indelible mark upon a significant number of us who have lived after him. He challenges and excites the receptive just as much as he can infuriate those who have already made their minds up.
Thomas Paine’s Republic Of Reason Read Post »
