Name: Common Sense
Rating: 3.8 (202 reviews)
Author: Thomas Paine

What’s in it for me? Learn why representative government is common sense.

Imagine you lived in British Colonial America. Back then, you could be taxed and wouldn't be able to do anything about it. The government, located an ocean away, could take your property and leave you helpless. Would you accept this state of affairs?

Of course not, and Thomas Paine didn't either. Instead, he wrote a pamphlet, Common Sense, which outlined what perfect government would look like.

So, how do you go about constructing a society the right way? These blinks will show you how.

In these blinks, you’ll discover

why societies need rules to steer people’s behavior;
why representation is needed as societies grow; and
how England crippled the American economy prior to the American Revolution.

Human existence depends on helping each other, which gives rise to societies and rules to guide them.

How many people does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Truthfully speaking, probably just one. While simple tasks of household maintenance can be accomplished alone, many other jobs in life require us to enlist the help of others.

That’s because to realize their potential, humans need to live and work with other people. Just consider how many things we’re required to do that rely on others for their success. In the author’s time, the late 18th century, that might have meant moving logs, building a house or plowing a field. Today, it’s reflected in effective product design that demands a team effort, or a delicate surgery requiring a group of doctors.

But societies don’t come about just to simplify tasks requiring many hands; they also exist because we rely on others for survival at difficult times. For example, when we get sick, we need other people to take care of us.

Imagine living in the author’s time and coming down with a high fever. With nobody to bring you water you’d die. While in modern times this threat is much less common, we still rely on people to bring us food and pick up our prescriptions when we’re sick.

It’s for this reason that we’re all invested in society prospering, and that means having guidelines. Why?

Because nobody except God is without vices and flaws. Moral shortcomings have been part and parcel of being human since we were expelled from the garden of eden.

This immoral impulse, an inherent part of our existence, causes us to harm others, since we disregard their well-being in favor of our own success. The danger of this threat necessitates rules in any human society; these are laws – statutes that govern how to behave and treat one another.

Representative government, not monarchy, is the best way to rule a society.

We all know how difficult it can be to make simple decisions with colleagues and family members. Even small tasks like deciding what kind of takeout to order can turn into huge debates. But imagine trying to make the same decision with thousands of people. Impossible, right?

For this reason, as a society grows, representative governance becomes a necessity. Since making decisions in big groups is nearly impossible, larger societies require a different way to make decisions.

America would be better off without England and should claim its independence.

You know how every teenager reaches a stage where they need their independence? The same goes for certain countries. Sometimes, when a country comes of age, it demands its own freedom, and no example is clearer than the case of the United States and Britain.

It’s obvious that no country should be able to claim ownership over another or its people. As such, the British claim to America was based on the assumption that the American population was British. Unfortunately for Britain, this turned out to be untrue; people identify as whatever they want to, and in this case, they wanted to be American.

Key ideas in Common Sense

What is Common Sense about?

When it was originally published, Common Sense (1776) came in the form of a pamphlet, which George Washington read to his troops during the American Revolutionary War. These blinks are a window into the political mind of one of America’s founding fathers, and will explain the logic that led to the American revolution, as well as to the establishment of an entirely new government.

About the Author

Thomas Paine was born in England in 1737 and, sponsored by Benjamin Franklin, moved to the Americas two years before publishing Common Sense. He was a founding father of the United States and was deeply involved in the political life of the young country. His other titles include The Rights of Man and The Age of Reason.