Revolutions, then, have for their object a change in the moral condition of governments, and with this change the burthen of public taxes will lessen, and civilisation will be left to the enjoyment of that abundance, of which it is now deprived.
Paine defines revolutions as movements aimed at improving the moral state of governments, leading to reduced taxes and greater societal prosperity.
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More from Thomas Paine
The man who is in the receipt of a million a year is the last person to promote a spirit of reform, lest, in the event, it should reach to himself.
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.
It was Government dethroning Government; and the old one, by attempting to make a new one, made a chasm.
But from such opposition the French Revolution, instead of suffering, receives an homage.