29 pages • 58 minutes read
Common Sense
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Themes
The King Is a Despot
Sometimes kings are crowned by their people, but usually they crown themselves and then retain the power within their families. This process, argues Paine, violates the natural rights of the citizens. King George III of Britain was such a ruler; for Paine, his Parliament was a rubber stamp. In the past, Paine explains, people would work together to build their societies. As those societies got very large, the citizens would choose someone to lead them. These leaders sometimes did well, but they might, at the end of their lives, hand power to their children, who often ruled poorly. Other kings crowned themselves after forcing people to obey them and pay tribute.
Kings soon argued that they had a divine right to rule. In fact, notes Paine, God expressly warns against kings in the Bible, and he punishes the Hebrews when they try to establish a royal leadership. Most kings tend to insulate themselves against the struggles of ordinary life, so they fail to understand the real needs of their subjects. Inevitably, royal rulers become tyrants; “the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise” (3).
King George, a hereditary ruler, exemplifies these bad traits in Paine’s mind. the king and his supporters argue that his power is checked by the peerage (House of Lords) and by the commons (Parliament), but a leader who must be guarded can’t be trusted, and this king controls both the peerage and Parliament through bribery and other influences. In effect, the king behaves as if “there shall be no laws but such as I like” (34). The result is arbitrary legislation that controls the colonies without their input or consent. This is a far cry from the ideal state, according to Paine. Instead, people have a natural right to choose their leaders and remove them at will, especially those who behave like tyrants.
The Republic Awaits
Paine argues that the true purpose of government is to uphold safety and freedom, yet most of the world is ruled by dictators who do the opposite. For Paine, America, and for that matter all people everywhere, deserve to liberate themselves from oppressive regimes and establish new government that the citizens control.
Paine sees a republic as the best form for this new government and believes that America is more than ready to build such an institution by and for itself. Republics are responsive, not domineering, toward their citizens. They tend to have peaceful relations among themselves, whereas kingdoms often go to war to satisfy the greed and egos of their rulers.
In a republic, democracy assures that the citizens control their leaders. Representatives are selected by them to enact legislation on the people’s behalf. Such delegates should be chosen from all the regions of a state, Paine suggests, so that every area has representation. To keep these legislators responsive to their constituents, elections should be held often; to keep them from conspiring among themselves, their number should be large.
To decide on a Continental Charter, Paine proposes that representatives from each state’s assembly should meet, along with delegates chosen at large from the people of each region. These persons will decide on a system that can defend the American nation, “securing freedom and property to all [people], and above all things the free exercise of religion” (38). They also must resolve the details of legislation and administration and determine the means of financing the new government.
Such a national system, Paine argues, will give Americans the ability to control their own destiny and have a say in its workings. He believes that for too long, Britain has towered over the colonies, commanding them arbitrarily to do this and that, even when the results harm the citizenry. A national government duly authorized by America’s citizens will result, instead, in a successful, prosperous, and free nation.
The Time Is Now
Paine makes the case that never has the time been better for Americans to seek their independence, and never again will the opportunity be as rich. Now, he states, is when the resources, population, and military know-how are at their best. When Paine wrote Common Sense, America had recently supported British efforts to overcome French colonial interests in the northern part of the continent. By 1763, the issue was decided in Britain’s favor, but the cost was great, and Britain sought to pay for it by levying new taxes against the colonies. They protested and got temporary relief, but soon the taxes were reimposed. This expense, combined with the general incompetence of British governance, are costs too high to bear, Paine argues, and the sooner rid of them, the better.
At the same time, Paine believes that Americans have never been better suited to wage a war: The recent battles have toughened them, they remain well armed and trained, and, “Our small arms equal to any in the world” (48). In years to come, Paine fears Americans will have lost these advantages.
The colonies have no navy, but Paine suggests that building a few warships would be a small burden, and private vessels can be commissioned to add guns and do battle. Most of Britain’s vaunted navy, meanwhile, usually is confined to dry dock for repairs; its few West Indies ships are near enough to be attacked en masse and the British-Caribbean trade routes blockaded. The British must sail thousands of miles to engage Americans and then return across those same miles to refit, while American ships would be close to home and repair. In these respects, Paine argues, America is well able, even now, to make trouble for the British at sea.
Furthermore, Paine says, the resources of the continent are enormous, dwarfing those of Europe. As time passes, however, the king may see fit to siphon off much of those resources and the lands on which they sit, especially northern properties, deciding that they belong to him and his heirs. Also, Paine believes the American population is large enough to wage a competent war, but in the future it may become too large, and the resulting competition for resources may compromise its willingness to resist British oppression. Therefore, urges Paine, now is the time for America to make the break for freedom.
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