The end of all political associations is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man; and these rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance of oppression.
From his work "Rights of Man," this passage defines the fundamental purpose of government and the inherent rights it must protect.
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More from Thomas Paine
The Aristocracy had hitherto opposed the despotism of the Court, and affected the language of patriotism; but it opposed it as its rival (as the English Barons opposed King John) and it now opposed the nation from the same motives.
It was Government dethroning Government; and the old one, by attempting to make a new one, made a chasm.
Man cannot, properly speaking, make circumstances for his purpose, but he always has it in his power to improve them when they occur, and this was the case in France.
Nothing can be more terrible to a Court or Courtier than the Revolution of France.