The wants of the individual, which first produced the idea of society, are now augmented into the wants of the nation, and he is obliged to seek from another country what before he sought from the next person.
Paine discusses the evolution of societal needs from individual desires to national requirements.
Share
More from Thomas Paine
To possess ourselves of a clear idea of what government is, or ought to be, we must trace it to its origin.
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.