To understand the nature and quantity of government proper for man, it is necessary to attend to his character.
Thomas Paine: “To understand the nature and quantity of government proper for man, it is necessary to attend to his character.”
Editor's note · Context
From "Rights of Man," this passage suggests that understanding human nature is crucial for determining the appropriate form and scope of government.
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But as religion is very improperly made a political machine, and the reality of it is thereby destroyed, I will conclude this work with stating in what light religion appears to me.
Discussion and the general will arbitrates the question, and to this, private opinion yields with a good grace, and order is preserved uninterrupted.
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…
As to what are called national religions, we may, with as much propriety, talk of national Gods.