A German Elector is in his electorate a despot; how then could it be expected that he should be attached to principles of liberty in one country, while his interest in another was to be supported by despotism?
Thomas Paine: “A German Elector is in his electorate a despot; how then could it be expected that he should be attached to principles…”
Editor's note · Context
In "Rights of Man," Paine questions how a monarch who rules despotically in one territory can genuinely support liberty in another.
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