Common Sense (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

by Thomas Paine

Genres: Philosophy, History

Unknown Binding

About the author

Thomas Paine was an English-American political activist, author, political theorist and revolutionary. As the author of two highly influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution, he inspired the Patriots in 1776 to declare independence from Britain. His ideas reflected Enlightenment-era rhetoric of transnational human rights. He has been called "a corset maker by trade, a journalist by profession, and a propagandist by inclination".

Born in Thetford, England, in the county of Norfolk, Paine emigrated to the British American colonies in 1774 with the help of Benjamin Franklin, arriving just in time to participate in the American Revolution. His principal contributions were the powerful, widely read pamphlet Common Sense (1776), the all-time best-selling American book that advocated colonial America's independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, and The American Crisis (1776–83), a pro-revolutionary pamphlet series. Common Sense was so influential that John Adams said, "Without the pen of the author of Common Sense, the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain."

Paine lived in France for most of the 1790s, becoming deeply involved in the French Revolution. He wrote the Rights of Man (1791), in part a defence of the French Revolution against its critics. His attacks on British writer Edmund Burke led to a trial and conviction in absentia in 1792 for the crime of seditious libel. In 1792, despite not being able to speak French, he was elected to the French National Convention. The Girondists regarded him as an ally. Consequently, the Montagnards, especially Robespierre, regarded him as an enemy.

In December 1793, he was arrested and imprisoned in Paris, then released in 1794. He became notorious because of his pamphlet The Age of Reason (1793–94), in which he advocated deism, promoted reason and freethinking, and argued against institutionalized religion in general and Christian doctrine in particular. He also wrote the pamphlet Agrarian Justice (1795), discussing the origins of property, and introduced the concept of a guaranteed minimum income. In 1802, he returned to America where he died on June 8, 1809. Only six people attended his funeral as he had been ostracized for his ridicule of Christianity.

Reviews

[Michael Sandoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

USA! USA! …. A little “antiquated” at times but hey, the guy was from a different time. Probably why they didn’t let us read it in school, only told us “this guy wrote a really important thing that helped convince many colonists to turn against the motherland and found the greatest country on earth”. So now that you’re an adult go read it.

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made rebellion seem possible, and it continues to convince readers.

The language was somewhat hard to get through, since it as so old, but I enjoyed the book nonetheless.
Also, the sheer sass is censoring the words Britain, England, and King? 10/10
I think it’s time to restart the Revolution against the wannabe K—s and fight for what Thomas Paine said:
No Kings. Ever.

4/5

[Hanna B Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loses a star because there are some inaccuracies(though they may not have been known at the time). He also has a whole section chalked up to god and divine - blah, blah, blah. I just don't think using god to prove your point proves anything. Other than that, 10/10.

I actually need someone to rewrite this but with modern concerns. I would do it but I'm a reader, not a writer.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great writer. My second time reading since 2014. Should probably read every 4th of July.

[Miles Mitchell]

It’s a shame that Paine, a man who championed democratic ideals, was undone by the “despotism of the mind” of the same system.