The civil wars which have originated from contested hereditary claims, are more numerous, and have been more dreadful, and of longer continuance, than those which have been occasioned by election.
From "Rights of Man," Paine argues against hereditary succession by highlighting the historical instability it causes compared to elective systems.
Share
More from Thomas Paine
It was become evident, that no constitution, worthy of being called by that name, could be established on anything less than a national ground.
The meaning, then, good people, of all this, is: That government is governed by no principle whatever; that it can make evil good, or good evil, just as it pleases.
To account for this sudden transition, it is proper to observe that there are two distinct species of popularity; the one excited by merit, and the other by resentment.
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.