Rights of Man

Rights of Man by Thomas Paine (1791)

Introduction

Published on March 13, 1791, Rights of Man by Thomas Paine was written as a direct response to Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France. Paine’s work defends the principles of republican government, natural rights, and popular sovereignty. It became a cornerstone of Enlightenment political thought and a rallying cry for democratic reformers across Europe and America.

The book is divided into two parts: the first refutes Burke’s arguments and affirms the legitimacy of revolution; the second outlines Paine’s vision for a just society, including proposals for welfare, taxation, and representative government.

Rights of Man – Part the First

Men are born, and always continue, free and equal in respect of their rights. Civil distinctions, therefore, can be founded only on public utility.

Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants. If the wants of men are not met, government is inadequate. The origin of government is in the evil of man; the design of government is to restrain it.

Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness. The former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections; the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.

Source: Project Gutenberg