Thomas Paine Quotes
Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best stage, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.
Paine, Thomas. Common Sense. W. & T. Bradford, 1776, p. 1.
This is the libertarian-conservative flip of the famous JFK quotation {589867}.
This quotation not only illustrates the typical Southern attitude at the time as the issue of Slavery began to be the subject of Federal governmental debate, but it also illustrates the incredible party flip flops over time. Ritchie was one of the leading Democratic Politicians of his day, and it was the Democrats who were opposed to Government. However, people without a knowledge of early American History might think that this quotation came from right wing Republicans of the early 21st century. By then, it was the Democrats who saw the important role of government. The Democrats were then extreme enemies of the Federal Government and were against freedom for Blacks and their rights, that the Republican Party was created and used government more than most Americans ever thought possible, ended slavery and permitted Negro voting and equality. Almost 200 years later it was the Democrats who were espousing the old Republican Views, and the Republicans holding the old Democratic view of government and adopting a more passive view on racial equality and justice.
Even in democracies, governments sometimes adopt programs or policies which are not those preferred by a majority of the people. Frequently, a program which has initial public support losses that support yet the government “stays the course”. Legislative and Constitutional complexities sometimes will allow minorities to dictate practices and policies that do not have majority support. In pseudo-democracies and authoritarian regimes the people have little to say in government activities. The result is that there is often a distinction between a society and its government. In many cases foreign opinion of a government and its people are different. America is the classic example, where Americans and American society is much more popular in many nations than is the United States government.
Thomas Paine was an English-born American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary. He authored Common Sense (1776) and The American Crisis (1776–1783), the two most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution, and helped inspire the patriots in 1776 to declare independence from Great Britain. His ideas reflected Enlightenment-era ideals of transnational human rights. Historian Saul K. Padover described him as "a corsetmaker by trade, a journalist by profession, and a propagandist by inclination".
