So far as those governments relate to each other, they are in the same condition as we conceive of savage uncivilised life; they put themselves beyond the law as well of God as of man, and are, with respect to principle and reciprocal conduct, like so many individuals in a state of nature.
From "Rights of Man," Paine describes the uncivilized state of relations between governments, likening them to individuals in a state of nature.
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