What inducement has the farmer, while following the plough, to lay aside his peaceful pursuit, and go to war with the farmer of another country? or what inducement has the manufacturer?
Paine asks why common citizens, like farmers and manufacturers, would willingly engage in war with their counterparts in other nations.
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He writes neither in the character of a Frenchman nor an Englishman, but in the fawning character of that creature known in all countries, and a friend to none--a courtier.
To account for this sudden transition, it is proper to observe that there are two distinct species of popularity; the one excited by merit, and the other by resentment.
The aristocracy has screened itself too much, and this serves to restore a part of the lost equilibrium.