Essays · Chapter
Of the Origin and Design of Government in General, with Concise Remarks on the English Constitution explained
Paine distinguishes society from government, arguing that society arises from our wants and promotes happiness, while government is a necessary evil born from our wickedness.
What happens
Paine distinguishes society from government, arguing that society arises from our wants and promotes happiness, while government is a necessary evil born from our wickedness. He traces the origin of government to a hypothetical small colony where natural liberty leads to society, then to representative government as the colony grows. He then critiques the English constitution as a complex, absurd mixture of monarchical and aristocratic tyrannies with republican elements, arguing that the Crown's power to give places and pensions makes it the overbearing part, and that the constitution's checks are ineffective.
Themes in this chapter
Society vs. Government
Paine clearly distinguishes society as a blessing produced by our wants, and government as a necessary evil produced by our wickedness.
Critique of the English Constitution and Funding System
Paine extensively criticizes the English constitution as complex, absurd, and a mixture of monarchical and aristocratic tyrannies with ineffective checks.
Representative Government vs. Hereditary System
Paine advocates for representative government elected by the people, contrasting it with hereditary monarchy and aristocracy which are independent of the people.
Characters to notice
- Thomas Paine
Author of the chapter, presenting his arguments on the origin and design of government and critiquing the English constitution.
- Charles II
Mentioned in reference to the fate of Charles the First, which made kings more subtle but not more just.
Key passages
“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.”
Society arises from our needs and makes us happy by bringing us together, while government comes from our bad behavior and only makes us less unhappy by stopping our worst actions.
Paine's foundational distinction between society and government.
“Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise.”
Government is a sign that we have lost our original goodness, just as clothes are a sign of lost innocence; the grand homes of kings are built on what was once a perfect, innocent world.
Metaphor emphasizing government as a necessary but regrettable institution.
“But the constitution of England is so exceedingly complex, that the nation may suffer for years together without being able to discover in which part the fault lies; some will say in one and some in another, and every political physician will advise a different medicine.”
The English constitution is so complicated that the country can suffer for a long time without anyone knowing exactly what is wrong, with different people blaming different parts and offering different solutions.
Paine's critique of the complexity and opacity of the English constitution.