Political Quotes

Thomas Paine: “It is an assemblage of practical knowledge, which no individual can possess; and therefore the monarchical form is as…”

On the recordJanuary 1, 1791
It is an assemblage of practical knowledge, which no individual can possess; and therefore the monarchical form is as much limited, in useful practice, from the incompetency of knowledge, as was the democratical form, from the multiplicity of population.
Said by
Thomas Paine

Editor's note · Context

In "Rights of Man," Paine argues that no single individual can possess the practical knowledge needed to govern, limiting monarchies.

Share

More from Thomas Paine

Jan 1, 1791

I have no idea, considering the reforms which are now passing and spreading throughout Europe, that England will permit herself to be the last; and where the occasion and the opportunity quietly offer, it is better than to wait for a…

gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1791

Reason and discussion, persuasion and conviction, become the weapons in the contest, and it is only when those are attempted to be suppressed that recourse is had to violence.

gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1791

Why may we not suppose, that the great Father of all is pleased with variety of devotion; and that the greatest offence we can act, is that by which we seek to torment and render each other miserable?

gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1791

It is only those who have not thought that appear to agree.

gutenberg.org