Thomas Paine : Collected Writings : Common Sense / The Crisis / Rights of Man / The Age of Reason / Pamphlets, Articles, and Letters (Library of America)

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What a useful collection.

We have it in our power to begin the world over again

Teach Thomas Paine to all Ages

Most Important Founding Father - outstanding one-volume edition of his writings!

Timeless inspiration

Thomas Paine : Collected Writings : Common Sense / The Crisis / Rights of Man / The Age of Reason / Pamphlets, Articles, and Letters (Library of America)
Thomas Paine
Manufacturer: Library of America
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1883011035

Book Description

Paine was the impassioned democratic voice of the Age of Revolution, and this volume brings together his best-known works--"Common Sense," "The American Crisis," "Rights of Man," "The Age of Reason," along with a selection of letters, articles and pamphlets that emphasizes Paine's American years.

Customer Reviews:

What a useful collection........2007-07-10

It's good to have all Paine's material in one handy volume. Plenty to read and think about. It's a pity he's not better known in the USA, considering his significance in the existence of the country.

We have it in our power to begin the world over again.......2007-07-06

This was a required reading for a graduate humanities class. John Keane's biography succinctly showed that Tom Paine (1737-1809) was the consummate revolutionary and a daring adventurer. Not only was he an important figure in the American Revolution, but he also traveled to France in 1791 to give that revolution a push. Paine traveled from England, just in time to stoke the flames of the revolution with his pamphlet Common Sense, in January 1776. To call Common Sense a sensation in the colonies is actually a bit of an understatement. It was an unparallel sensation and monumental work of Enlightenment rhetoric that quickly fanned the flames of rebellion throughout the colonies. In four months, over 120,000 copies were printed in the colonies--over 500,000 copies by years end. No other pamphlet printed in seventeenth century America came close to its success. Most importantly, Common Sense served to get the colonial patriots to drop their fear of open rebellion, and also emboldened those delegates who favored declaring independence from Britain. The delegates now had the confidence that a large segment of the colonists would support rebellion. Similar to the Declaration of Independence, the philosophical ideas in Common Sense are primarily from the English philosopher, John Locke (1632-1704). The most moving quote from the pamphlet became quite prophetic, when one considers the impact it ultimately had on the delegates in the congress, the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, and on the world. "We have it in our power to begin the world over again."

As a graduate student in philosophy and history, I heartily recommend this timeless classic to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history.

Teach Thomas Paine to all Ages.......2006-12-03

Paine truly is the forgotten founding father. Unbelievably, I never learned about him till college--and only then through specific history classes. In addition to this volume, I suggest one of my recent discoveries: The Elementary Common Sense of Thomas Paine; the 1776 document Common Sense adapted and illustrated for ages 11 on up. It is here on Amazon. Paine, and all of our country's founding documents, should be taught to kids early on.

Most Important Founding Father - outstanding one-volume edition of his writings!.......2006-07-22

Thomas Paine was the most consistent and important of all the American Founding Fathers. He consistently spoke up in favor of liberty and freedom; for example, his opposition to the institution of slavery (which he argued was immoral and un-Christian and thought it quite contradictory to claim to be a Christian on the one hand and support slavery on the other hand) - Paine also spoke up in support of women's rights, freedom of thought, the poor, etc.

The important thing about Paine is that he practiced what he preached, as opposed to just about every other founding father (e.g., Jefferson saying all are "created equal" but owning slaves, or Adams "dismissing" his wife's assertion that they too should be included in the political process). I don't think we ought to condemn those individuals for the beliefs that they had, indeed they were products of their time period - and they are worthy of study. However, I also believe that we should praise those who were able to step out of that period and see things as they are, this is what Paine was able to do.

If you doubt Paine's importance in the history of American independence, consider the following; probably no other phamphlet brought the idea of independence to the mind of the colonists like Paine's "Common Sense" did and it was Paine's "Crisis #1" that was read to Washington's soldiers before they prepared for the biggest fight of the American Revolution. Paine's defense of the French Revolution in his "Rights of Man" sparked off a publication war that has yet to be matched and his "The Age of Reason" delineated the philosophical ideas that most of the founding fathers had with regard to religion (regardless of what the religious right would have you to believe).

Paine's mistake was not believing what most of the founding fathers believed, that the "common man and woman" was not intellectual enough to handle the arguments that he (and the others) were advocating. It was his consistency which brought about his downfall - this is a shame, because he is one of the most important thinkers to come out of the Revolutionary Period in American history.

Timeless inspiration.......2006-07-08

Thomas Paine, especially in The Age of Reason, did not put forth completely original ideas. Many of his contemporaries had the same critisms that Paine did in regard to organized religion especially Christianity. However, Thomas Paine organized such thoughts in a way that they were accessible to common men. Unfortunately his brave and inspirational work was his downfall. Closeminded and fearful citizens, like RICKITHEREADER in our modern times were frightened that perhaps Paine was tearing a hole the the fabric of their blind faith and because of this, Paines' last work, The Age of Reason, left him to die alone and impoverished. He was abandoned, even by his intellectual contemporaries, most who agreed with him but were not brave enough to voice their beliefs in the common vernacular. I was inspired by Paine who wrote, "My mind is my own church," which was not the voice of an atheist but the voice of a man who really did know the "truth" and his true path. Unlike RickitheReader, I have read both the bible and Paine with an open mind and heart. The joy of reading is the ability to let it lead you to new places. Thomas Paine would have said it better. Read this compilation and it will lead you to new places, wherever your faith is.

Common Sense, The Rights of Man and Other Essential Writings of Thomas Paine (Signet Classics)

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Forgotten Founding Father
Essential Reading Fo Every American
Must-read for anyone seriously interested in American history
Enlightening, Revolutionary, and Worth a Read
In simplest terms and lack of a better title: Common Sense

Common Sense, The Rights of Man and Other Essential Writings of Thomas Paine (Signet Classics)
Thomas Paine
Manufacturer: Signet Classics
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451528891
Release Date: 2003-07-01

Customer Reviews:

Forgotten Founding Father .......2007-04-16

Thomas Paine is not as heralded as the rest of the Founding Fathers. This is most likely due to his not holding any political office, and largely due to his heterodox views on religion. But more about the that later.

I was quiet impressed with Paine's "Golden Voice" for the Revolution. He had a talent, and even a genius, for persuasive essaymanship. John Adams wrote, "Without the pen of Thomas Paine, the sword of Washington would have been wielded in vain."

This is a book of selections, and as C. S. Lewis observed, "The only use of selections is to deter those readers who will never appreciate the original, and thus save them from wasting their time on it, and to send all the others on the original as quickly as possible." (The Quotable Lewis, #447)

For a complete compilation, buy Thomas Paine : Collected Writings : Common Sense / The Crisis / Rights of Man / The Age of Reason / Pamphlets, Articles, and Letters (Library of America).

Here is the breakdown of this book's contents:

"Common Sense" (complete): Plain and simple, this should be required reading for every high school student--or even earlier. We cannot underestimate the connection between this pamphlet, Patrick Henry's "Liberty or Death" speech, and the decision to go ahead with the Declaration of Independence. In fact, the order, logic, and evidence that Paine used in this pamphlet was reused by Jefferson in the Declaration.

"The Crisis" (selections): These essays are a combination of motivational speeches and silver-tongued ridicule--a cross between Tokyo Rose and Rush Limbaugh.

"Rights of Man" (complete, both parts):

Coming in two part, this book could also be divided along the lines of it's contents: One half is a rambly screed against Edmund Burk's Reflections on the Revolution in France (Oxford World's Classics), the other half is rather snazzy political theory. For example, his distinction between natural and civil rights is a gem.

Age of Reason (selections of part 1): This is the book that really undid Paine and brought about the famous doggerel: "Here lies Tom Paine, who wrote in liberty's defense / And in his `Age of Reason' lost his `Common Sense.'" Like Nietzsche, Paine had a talent for sarcasm which overshadowed his evidence. Think of How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must): The World According to Ann Coulter.

Though critical of religion, the book did leave it's mark: Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism (The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ or Encyclopedia of Joseph Smith's Teachings), was well-schooled in this book. His mother recorded that Smith's paternal grandfather got into a heated discussion with his father, and threw a copy of the book and told Smith's father to read it until he believed it History of Joseph Smith by His Mother: Revised and Enhanced. BYU scholar Joseph Fielding McConkie, a great-great grandnephew of Joseph Smith, was also favorable to certain aspects of the book "Seeking the spirit."

Really, this book is nothing new, if one is familiar with Bertrand Russell's or Carl Sagan's critiques, or spend any time reading anti-Christian blogs. A Christian response would be either Mere Christianity or More Than a Carpenter.

When he presented the manuscript to Benjamin Franklin, the sage replied, "At present I shall only give you my opinion, that, though your reasonings are subtle and may prevail with some readers, you will not succeed so as to change the general sentiments of mankind on that subject, and the consequence of printing this piece will be, a great deal of odium drawn upon yourself, mischief to you, and no benefit to others. He that spits against the wind, spits in his own face."

His parting paragraph is a mixture of wit, wisdom, and prophecy:

"I would advise you, therefore, not to attempt unchaining the tiger, but to burn this piece before it is seen by any other person; whereby you will save yourself a great deal of mortification by the enemies it may raise against you, and perhaps a good deal of regret and repentance. If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be if without it."

So take it for what it is. Whatever your view of organized religion may be, this book should round out your thinking.

Agrarian Justice (selections): This is Paine's plan for redistributing income to equalize living conditions. The intent of economic equality is in accord with Paine's big heart. But for the man who said, "Government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one," it is beyond strange that he would advocate such intrusiveness. Why would he want to create a nation-wide welfare system, which would of necessity, empower that "necessary evil." Maybe he did loose his common sense in his age of reason.

As I mentioned earlier, Paine is not as well known as the other founders, partly due to "Age of Reason." Additionally there is a shallowness to Paine's prose. At times he is an avid marksman for political theory, as in parts of "Common Sense" and "Rights of Man," at other times he merely strings together platitudes, invective, cracker-barrel wisdom, and off-hand sarcasm. There is no analytical depth as we get with Aristotle, Ayn Rand, C. S. Lewis, or the Thomases (Sowell and Aquinas). So I felt like I was drinking skim milk, as opposed to chocolate cream. His essays are persuasive, but not as intellectually satisfying as they could be. His talent, then, comes from an instinct for properly applying his talent for surface-level discussion. Today, he would be an NPR talking head.

Essential Reading Fo Every American.......2007-01-24

The ideas in these collections not only apply when the Founding FATHERS came together and brought together our aweseome country, but they apply to the present more than ever. The responsibilities of the people have been forgotten, it is now blasphemy to denounce or question the government. Nothing will change until the ideas in this collection are brought back into the American people's day to day life.

Must-read for anyone seriously interested in American history.......2007-01-22

This is what we're founded on, what America is supposed to be, and the way we should conduct our political affairs. Paine should probably be required reading for every citizen, every student, anyone wondering what freedom really means. Besides being informative, it is incisive, sarcastic, humorous, and passionate. The English is old and dated, but that just adds to its delight. I read this in short segments and then thought about each chapter. It made me proud to be an American and sad to realize how much freedom we've lost since Paine's day.

Enlightening, Revolutionary, and Worth a Read.......2006-11-14

In an unrelenting quest to understanding the history of the United States, one obscure name comes to mind, Thomas Paine. Paine helped establish the meaning of democracy and the "united" in United States. His two monumental works, COMMON SENSE AND RIGHTS OF MAN, provided the philosophical and rhetorical building blocks that the founding fathers, such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, et al., would emulate with the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Many take for granted the origins of freedom and democracy in the United States, and as with many school history textbooks depict, Paine merely appears in a paragraph or two, and quickly disappears to historical oblivion.

Nevertheless, when one reads COMMON SENSE AND RIGHTS OF MAN: AND OTHER ESSENTIAL WRITINGS OF THOMAS PAINE, there will be no doubt how significant his philosophical and political writings transformed the political structure of the colonies. Although this may sound somewhat romanticized, Paine's words ignited the energy for the colonists to free themselves from the tyrannical-monarchical leadership of England's King George III. With all the talk of Paine being a founding father, he may also be considered the father of revolution, American Revolution and French Revolution, and human rights. Without the inspiration from his friend Edmund Burke, author of REFLECTIONS ON THE REVOLUTION IN FRANCE, Paine may not have been able to write the pamphlet Rights of Man. Indeed, his power of the written word translated to revolutionary action, and Jeffersonian ideology.

In clear and no nonsense language, Paine's perspective of the state of the colonies are elaborately told in COMMON SENSE. He adamantly shows his opposition toward hereditary rule and limitations imposed on individuals by George III and his vehement disdain towards aristocrats and kings. For RIGHTS OF MAN, he proposed possible solutions toward poverty, and created a blueprint towards achieving social and political institutions through his written abstracts. The other essential writings include the pamphlets, THE CRISIS, part one of THE AGE OF REASON, and selections of AGRARIAN JUSTICE. These writings gives readers an idea the political and religious atmosphere in which Paine lived, and how "breaking ties" with the so-called "motherland" was necessary towards forging a free nation.

COMMON SENSE AND RIGHTS OF MAN is indeed accessible with its pocketbook size form. After reading the book, readers may have a better understanding of what takes to build a nation. Paine's words are lessons of history and humanity, and is definitely recommendable reading.

In simplest terms and lack of a better title: Common Sense.......2006-10-25

Thomas Paine is one of those great philosophers who have a satiric spirit. Why not? He is from an age of great wits/philosophers - Voltaire, Rousseau. The most obvious reason for his greatness lies herein and it is because his reasoning and ideas are so obvious; that is his greatness. He says what is already in the minds of many and with a wit which gives the ideas strength. When I think of Thomas Paine, I think of Common Sense, the 1776 pamphlet and the spirit of reason over superstitious hypocrisy. I rank Paine with Tolstoy; I revere Thomas Paine

The Communist Manifesto and Other Revolutionary Writings: Marx, Marat, Paine, Mao Tse-Tung, Gandhi and Others (Dover Thrift Editions)

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Fantastic and good for someone on the go
Very Insightful
Great Collection of Great Writings
NIce Anthology for a nice Price

The Communist Manifesto and Other Revolutionary Writings: Marx, Marat, Paine, Mao Tse-Tung, Gandhi and Others (Dover Thrift Editions)
Bob Blaisdell , Marx , and Gandhi
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486424650

Book Description

Spanning 3 centuries, this works include such milestone documents as the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789), and The Communist Manifesto (1848). Also included are writings by the Russian revolutionaries Lenin and Trotsky, Marat and Danton of the French Revolution, Rousseau, Gandhi, Mao, other leading figures in revolutionary thought.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic and good for someone on the go.......2007-01-30

This is revolution a great book for someone that has somewhere to be. The writings are mostly just a few pages long so you can begin and finish a thought before you have to stop reading. The only setback is that Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" isn't in the book in it's entirety. Only the appendix for "Common Sense" is in it. It is really hard to label that a setback because this book has so much packed into it for such a reasonable price.

Very Insightful.......2006-11-05

This book is great for anyone interested in the development of new ideas. When all of these writings are taken as a whole you can really appreciate what each revolutionary was trying to convey. A great read and very well priced.

Great Collection of Great Writings.......2006-11-03

I had always wanted to read the Communist Manifesto. This book surrounds Marx's writing with others that show a clear development towards a new kind of freedom and government. When placed in the contex of other great writers of new thinking, all of these works have greater meaning.

This is a superb collection to buy.

NIce Anthology for a nice Price.......2005-09-25

For 3.50 you cannot go wrong with this Dover Anthology of revolutionary writings. Spanning the American, French, Russian and Chinese revolutions it offers a broad range from Rousseau to Paine and Mao. One of the best advantages of this edition is that it offers many speeches and small writings that normally would have to be tracked down in a library. Though there are not many completed revolutionary texts in this edition, you have to remember that it is under 5 dollars and that similar, larger anthologies also do not include that manny completed texts. So if you are interested in revolutionary writings this book would be the perfect introduction for you.

Political Writings: Including the Debate Between Sieyes and Tom Paine in 1791

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Political Writings: Including the Debate Between Sieyes and Tom Paine in 1791
Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes
Manufacturer: Hackett Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0872204308

Book Description

The abbé Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès (1748-1836) distinguished himself as the chief theoretician of the French Revolution—and as a revolutionary constitutional and social theorist in his own right—through his rigorously analytical theory of representative government and its corollary, the representative character of social life in general. He expressed the essence of his thought in a series of three pamphlets published in the months leading up to the meeting of the Estates-General in 1789. This volume presents all three essays—Views of the Executive Means, An Essay on Privileges, and What Is the Third Estate?—in their entirety. The third essay, in a new translation by Michael Sonenscher, is followed by Sieyès's 1791 newspaper debate with Tom Paine on the merits of monarchy versus republicanism. Elucidated by Sonenscher's insightful Introduction, these texts will fascinate anyone interested in the history of the French Revolution, the history of social and political thought, or the origins and character of modern liberalism.

Paine: Political Writings (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought)

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We have it in our power to begin the world over again

Paine: Political Writings (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought)
Thomas Paine
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521667992

Book Description

Thomas Paine was arguably the single most influential political writer during the American and French Revolutions. For this revised and updated edition the distinguished intellectual historian Bruce Kuklick brings together an expanded collection of the classic Paine texts--Common Sense, Rights of Man, and The Age of Reason--as well as the first of Paine's papers on The Crisis of 1776. A brief chronology, updated notes for further reading, and a succinct and lucid introduction to the principal themes of each text give further help to the student reader.

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We have it in our power to begin the world over again.......2007-07-06

The LIBERTARIAN READER: Classic & Contemporary Writings from Lao-Tzu to Milton Friedman

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The Nature of Liberty
Useful, but maybe a tad overambitious
Why I'm a Libertarian
A Valuable Addition to Any Political Science Library
An Anthology Capturing the Essence of Libertarian Thought

The LIBERTARIAN READER: Classic & Contemporary Writings from Lao-Tzu to Milton Friedman
Thomas Paine , James Madison , Alexis de Tocqueville , John Stuart Mill , H.L. Mencken , Isabel Paterson , Murray Rothbard , Richard Epstein , and John Locke
Manufacturer: Free Press
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0684832003

Amazon.com

Conceived as the companion volume to David Boaz's Libertarianism, this anthology comprising the likes of Lao-tzu and Milton Friedman is a treasure trove. That's because libertarianism touches on such important issues as the nature and extent of individual rights, the proper powers of government, and the virtues and shortcomings of the marketplace, and besides, it has tempted many of history's best minds. Pound for pound, the most impressive piece of reasoning here is philosopher Robert Nozick's attempt to defend a "minimal state, limited to the narrow functions of protection against force, theft, [and] fraud, [and] enforcement of contracts" and the view "that any more extensive state will violate persons' rights not to be forced to do certain things." Still, I wonder if Nozick has always turned down federal research grants and has always refused to pay income taxes, and if he hasn't, why not?

Book Description

The first collection of seminal writings on a movement that is rapidly changing the face of American politics, The Libertarian Reader links some of the most fertile minds of our time to a centuries-old commitment to freedom, self-determination, and opposition to intrusive government. A movement that today counts among its supporters Steve Forbes, Nat Hentoff, and P.J. O'Rourke, libertarianism joins a continuous thread of political reason running throughout history.

Writing in 1995 about the large numbers of Americans who say they'd welcome a third party, David Broder of The Washington Post commented, "The distinguishing characteristic of these potential independent voters—aside from their disillusionment with Washington politicians of both parties—is their libertarian streak. They are skeptical of the Democrats because they identify them with big government. They are wary of the Republicans because of the growing influence within the GOP of the religious right."

In The Libertarian Reader, David Boaz has gathered the writers and works that represent the building blocks of libertarianism. These individuals have spoken out for the basic freedoms that have made possible the flowering of spiritual, moral, and economic life. For all independent thinkers, this unique sourcebook will stand as a classic reference for years to come, and a reminder that libertarianism is one of our oldest and most venerable American traditions.

Customer Reviews:

The Nature of Liberty.......2005-09-27

This book does not claim to be complete and openly admits that the heritage of liberty is much larger, deeper, and fuller than any one book could possibly hope to contain. This book is a brief--if you can call it such--summary of libertarian thought; it is a collection of writings containing ideas that have strongly influenced the evolution of politics. This is an excellent resource for finding essential thoughts on liberty and gathering names of many great thinkers to pursue in your future academic endeavors.

Useful, but maybe a tad overambitious.......2005-08-25

This collection of libertarian literature is a good first look at the wondrous world of anti-statist thought. It seems particularly apt for college students and other young people, yearning for meaningful ideas through the maze of collectivist propaganda.

Nevertheless, it does have one sin: it is at once too broad and too narrow. Too broad because it covers too much ground and, at times, complex arguments are deprived of part of their explanatory power. Too narrow, because there are some significant omissions. In particular, I would have liked to see more examples of contemporary anarcho-capitalist theory (e.g., David Friedman).

Notwithstanding that qualm, I found this volume extremely helpful.

Why I'm a Libertarian.......2004-09-13

This book is excellent for anyone who has interest in learning more about the Libertarian Party. The book is also great for mainstream libertarians who are serious about politics.

On a personal note: This book educated me on to why I should be a Libertarian, while outlining some political points of the parties beliefs:

- Free enterprise economics and free trade
- Individual freedom in areas such as gun rights
- immigration reform
- opposition to the military draft
- and it's favor of a strong national defense.

A Valuable Addition to Any Political Science Library.......2004-03-16

If you are looking for a quick introduction to the principles and practices of the Libertarian Party, avoid this book; a good search engine and some basic research skills are all you need. If instead you're searching for a deeper understanding of the philosophy of liberty, then I can suggest no better starting point.

The book itself is a collection of short essays from a wide range of contributors to the libertarian tradition, from political economists and philosophers (such as Locke, Mill, and Adam Smith) to some perhaps more surprising sources (like the Old Testament and the Tao Teh Ching). These essays are grouped around broad themes - "individual rights", "free markets", "skepticism about power" - certainly a boon to students, but also an aid to the casual reader. Should a particular topic or thinker pique your interest, a lengthy essay called "The Literature of Liberty" catalogs the sources as it closes the book.

Whether reading this book will convince you to join the Libertarian Party, or send money to the Cato Institute, is a matter open to debate; indeed, some critics rightly point out elements of "big L" Libertarianism that are at odds with "small l" classical liberal thought. My own hope is that reading these essays will give you not only a better understanding of the founder's intent, but also a clearer vision of a better possible future - a freer, saner world. How we get there, if we get there, remains to be seen.

An Anthology Capturing the Essence of Libertarian Thought.......2003-07-27

~The Libertarian Reader: Classic and Contemporary Writings from Lao-Tzu to Milton Friedman~ is a fascinating primer on libertarian thinking throughout the ages. I being of a classical conservative mind, hope to offer a fair critique of both this book and libertarianism in general. I acquired it during my pre-law days when studying political theory. Anyway, David Boaz has assembled an anthology of political and philosophical writings gleaned throughout history of what he deems to be libertarian thought. The introductory section entitled "Skepticism About Power" puts forward the crux of libertarian thought, namely skepticism of concentrated power and an affinity for the principle of subsidiarity and the widespread dispersal of power. In sum, libertarians affirm Lord Acton's axiom that "power tends to corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Boaz tosses in a selection from the Scriptures, in 1 Samuel 8, which shows the consequences of the ancient Israelites insisting on a monarchy. Here, the prophet Samuel warned of the consequences of absolutism that would ensue, but they the people would not relent and God through his permissive will relented and gave them their monarchy. James Madison's poignant Federalist #10 is included and correlates the founder's reverence of liberty with libertarian thought. Boaz infers the continuity of mainstream libertarianism with the 'classical' liberalism of yesteryears. Not surprisingly, advocates of free-markets and opponents of statism are among the cast of characters featured in his selections. Economists like Adam Smith, Frederic Bastiat, F.A. Hayek and Ludwig von Mises grace the pages. Frenchmen Bertrand de Jouvenal offers a poignant critique of redistribution, which was gathered from the pages of "The Ethics of Redistribution." Some egalitarian levelers, anarchists, and other assorted radicals like Lysander Spooner and social Darwinist Herbert Spencer are featured as well.

With regards to foreign policy issues, the essays featured seem to acquiesce with the sentiments of the founding fathers, which may be summed up in the dictum of Jefferson: "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none." These essays advocate strategic disengagement, a policy of strategic independence, which is commensurate with the prevailing foreign policy of armed neutrality espoused in the early years of the American republic. One essayist, namely Ted Galen Carpenter, works alongside Boaz at the Cato Institute, and offers a sensible assessment of our entanglement with the UN and its negative long-term consequences. However, libertarianism may be shallow in some respect on international affairs, hence their affinity for Richard Cobden whom Boaz featured. Cobden's fanciful screed entitled "Commerce is the Grand Panacea" acts as if free trade amongst the nations will whimsically do away with war. For political realists, this is a bit of well wishing that doesn't mesh too well with reality or history.

Thus far I've been dispassionate for the most part, but now let me toss in a monkey-wrench in regards to Boaz's selection of libertarian icons. Many contributors selected never identified themselves libertarians as such. Moreover, some were avowed opponents of libertarianism. In the 1950s, economist F.A. Hayek deplored those who would assign the libertarian appellation to him. He insisted that he was an "Old Whig, with emphasis on Old." Likewise, Ayn Rand too, had bad things to say about libertarians of her time, yet many in libertarian circles strangely have an affinity for her crude, materialistic objectivist philosophy. Some of the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of libertarianism (visible in the schisms of 19th century classical liberalism) planted the seeds of what mutated into modern, permissive liberalism with its penchant for radical secularizing and egalitarian leveling. Some of these flaws are manifest in the nineteenth century selections featured in this book. Granted, some libertarians (i.e. paleolibertarians) are openly appalled at these dark facets of modernity that I'm about to describe. Generally, many libertarians have a dogmatic affinity for an abstract liberty, a tendency to reject a transcendent moral order, a penchant for crude utilitarian reductionism, and some even find all forms of coercion appalling, apparently even the social stigmatism of family, tradition and societal custom. (BTW If you think this is an overstatement than read Harry Browne's _How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World_.) Murray Rothbard was adamant that libertarians aren't libertines. However, as libertarian writers prattle off screeds like _Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do_ and _XXX: A Woman's Right to Pornography_ advocating an unfettered market for drugs and sex, it seems the more libertine side of libertarianism is apparent. Those avowed libertarians that retort, "I'm against these things," probably favor Edmund Burke over Thomas Paine, and might as well rally to the conservative camp if they do an accurate self-assessment. Furthermore, many libertarians devalue both community and the nation-state, and question the sovereignty of states to regulate immigration while they long for a borderless world of hyper-atomized individuals engaged in economic transactions. That "globalization" is a cousin of "internationalism" remains a fatal concession and they have to tacitly admit it. Some libertarians in their theorizing have a tendency to supplant the marketplace in place of civil society. In doing so, they adhere to a dictum that can be surmised as "everything inside the market and nothing outside the market," thus turning Mussolini's statist mantra on its nose. "Ideas have consequnces," as Richard Weaver observes, and naturally the liberalism of Paine, Spencer, Mill and yes even Locke gave way to modern liberalism and the perils of modernity.

I was once an avowed libertarian, but with a kick; I fancied myself as "a conservative with a libertarian bent." As conservative thinker Russell Kirk surmises, many nominal conservative youths flirt with libertarianism, but anyone who thinks seriously about politics falls away from the shallow philosophy. Nevertheless, there is much in libertarian thought to be admired, though they're not always the exclusive harbingers of all these good ideas they espouse. It's also real easy to maintain "ideological purity" on economic issues, for example, when you're not in power. Libertarians particularly those affiliated with the Cato Institute are aligned with the Old Right in an effort to unleash what we might characterize as a "devolution revolution." Such a move would effectively restore the 10th Amendment and federalism commensurate with original intent of the U.S. Constitution's framers. (Neoconservatives however are too apt to constitutional compromise.) Anyhow, for accomplishing his task of making an anthology offering a cross-section of libertarian thought, I'll give Boaz a thumbs up and a five-star rating despite my misgivings about libertarianism.

Rights of Man, Common Sense, and Other Political Writings (Oxford World's Classics)

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Good collection but the texts are rambly.

Rights of Man, Common Sense, and Other Political Writings (Oxford World's Classics)
Thomas Paine
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192835572

Book Description

`An army of principles will penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot . . . it will march on the horizon of the world and it will conquer.' Thomas Paine was the first international revolutionary. His Common Sense (1776) was the most widely read pamphlet of the American Revolution; his Rights of Man (1791-2) was the most famous defence of the French Revolution and sent out a clarion call for revolution throughout the world. He paid the price for his principles: he was outlawed in Britain, narrowly escaped execution in France, and was villified as an atheist and a Jacobin on his return to America. Paine loathed the unnatural inequalities fostered by the hereditary and monarchical systems. He believed that government must be by and for the people and must limit itself to the protection of their natural rights. But he was not a libertarian: from a commitment to natural rights he generated one of the first blueprints for a welfare state, combining a liberal order of civil rights with egalitarian constraints. This collection brings together Paine's most powerful political writings from the American and French revolutions in the first fully annotated edition of these works.

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Good collection but the texts are rambly........2004-01-10

This volume contains all of the principal works of the great mind of Thomas Paine. Although technically not one of the Founding Fathers of the US, his thoughts on liberty and the purpose of government have influenced the world. He lived in a time when democracy was in its infancy and so much of his views are particular to the newly formed governments of the US and France. But still an interesting insight into politics. He can generally be considered a libertarian.

The most famous works in the volume are Common Sense, Rights of Man and the Letter to the Addressers of the Late Proclamation. The texts are sufficiently annotated and there's a chronology of his life. If politics are your thing and you want to read about the forming of America, this is your book - it shows Paine's politics at their finest.

One word of warning - this isn't an easy read. Paine is often wordy and rambly. Often his texts have account ledgers - which is understandable for the time they were written but today break the flow of the work. The writing is dense and his points could have been made in half the number of pages. If this doesn't deter you, you'll find an inspiring read about the rights and responsibilities of people and government towards each other.

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The Hobo Philosopher

We have it in our power to begin the world over again

Reviews by Nan Kilar and Bobby Miller

About the Age of Reason

The Life and Major Writings of Thomas Paine: Includes Common Sense, the American Crisis, Rights of Man, the Age of Reason and Agrarian Justice
Thomas Paine
Manufacturer: Replica Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Thomas Paine and the Promise of America

Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism

Letter to a Christian Nation

The God Delusion

ASIN: 0735100772

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The Hobo Philosopher.......2007-09-06

I think that every American should read all the works of Tom Paine. The phrasing and style are of today even though these works are over 200 years old. Read John Adams or even Thomas Jefferson and you can't help but to notice. It seems peculiar to me that I even hear conservatives today quoting Tom Paine. Tom Paine was no conservative. Read Agrarian Justice and you will have all the proof that you need. If that isn't enough try The Age of Reason on for size. If there were no Tom Paine I doubt very much that there would ever have been an American Revolution. Yet Tom takes no place in "monument" parks about this country. It is very sad.

We have it in our power to begin the world over again.......2007-07-06

Reviews by Nan Kilar and Bobby Miller.......2006-06-22

If you are a Fundamentalist, dust off your sandals and flee. At best this book will confuse you even more than you already are. Thomas Jefferson wrote that he merited the same censure visited upon the author of Rights of Man "for I profess the same principles."

Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were Deists. Another thing they had in common was their contempt for the so-called mystery of God, and the pious frauds that perpetuated it in order to obtain those things they desired. One who has any knowledge of God Almighty whatsoever would be outraged at the claim that He would need or want a fallen angel to battle; that He would use a snake, of all creatures, to entice a female to sin or use a whale as a motel. Those who advocate such things fall into one of two categories: sociopaths or herd animals. The buildings they erect supposedly to honor God serve everyone involved but God. While they are gathering places for those desiring wool and those in need of shearing, they serve a far greater purpose--they allow those without the desire to serve the true God, a God that cautions them before they can even get a lie out of their mouths--a mystery to worship.

As Paine explains, "Mystery answers all general purposes, miracle followed as an occasional auxiliary. The former served to bewilder the mind, the latter to puzzle the senses. The one was the lingo, the other the legerdemain."

About the Age of Reason.......2006-01-24

Paine who failed out of school at the age of 12 was not one of the best thinkers of all time. He joined the American Revoluntion immediately prior to its onset, and he met with the founding fathers and expressed the ideas of the American people of the time in Common Sense. Because of the fame he received from Common Sense he attempted to influence Christian nation he was living in. Although some of the other founding fathers were also deist, Paine's writtings in the Age of Reason (which contradicts his earlier statements)lead to his downfall. He attempted to take advantage of his limited fame and failed.

Some of Paine's arguments state that he can't accept the revelations of others because he cannot be assured of THEIR credibility. This comes from a man that failed out of school at 12 years old, failed at every job he attempted, and is only remembered for his statements in support of the American Revolution, which he only was apart of for a few years before it took place.

Much of Paine's arguments contain fallacies. His belief of an Age of Reason is not supported by logical or reasoning abilities. One example is the logical fallacy Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc (after this therefore because of this). One of Paine's arguments is that Satan was punished by being sent to a pit; Paine then states that the Greek god Jupiter punished his opponent (giants) by confining one under a mountain (Paine claims resulted in volcanoes). Paine claims that BECAUSE the legend of Jupiter imprisoning his rival allegedly preceded the concept of Satan being imprisoned that the Christian belief in Satan must have been derived out of the Jupiter legend. Paine's assumption excludes the fact that earthy crimes committed throughout all ages have had punishment or prison associated with them, and the claim that the Jews would have had to study Greek mythology to create their own beliefs is a complete hypothesis on Paine's part.

Paine's statements are wishy-washy to say the least. He makes statements that the Bible is only hearsay and has no merit, and then at other times makes statements based on Biblical passages as though they were a matter of fact. He states that Jesus was a great teacher, and that he (Paine) is going to stick with the philosophy of Thomas (doubting Thomas) and demand to see proof of everything. If Paine's theories were true that the Bible was only hearsay, he would have no way of judging what Jesus taught as his (Paine's) beliefs do not allow for Jesus or Thomas to have even existed.

A very interesting thing to note about Paine's beliefs is that if you apply his beliefs to his own work then you would PROVE in Paine's view point that HE never existed. Paine states that you cannot believe that Paul wrote the books of the New Testament attributed to him therefore the Bible is not true. This same principle can be applied to Paine's work to challenge Paine's very existence. None of us personally met Paine or verified that his writings were his own; we only have writings that we are told were written by Thomas Paine by others, and that the writings contained Paine's beliefs. If you apply this type of reasoning to Paine's own work then you would have to conclude that Paine's work might be a complete fabrication, and that there is no proof that he even lived that does not come from hearsay or documentation of other men.

In LIFE AND WRITINGS OF THOMAS PAINE it says: "Deism teaches us that God is a God of truth and justice. Does the Bible teach the same doctrine? It does not."

This concept of God being a God of Justice and Truth is taken from the Revelations of the Bible and not from the Deist's use of Reason. By simply observing Creation to understand God as Deist claims you would not come to the understanding of God as a God of Justice and Truth. The world is not naturally just. If you base your religion on observing nature you are more likely to conclude that God is growing people in order to eat them, as that is what is observable in nature. Human's raise animals for food and are not concerned about providing the animals with truth and justice. These traits cannot be determined by observing the movements of the sun or the actions of man.

Observing the nature of man; to rob, rape, and kill would appear to be a natural state of man, as these actions have been recorded throughout all history and still exist today. If Deists hold to the belief of judging God by observing the creation without giving any thought to Biblical Revelation then there is not cause to label such actions as sin. Revealed religion is what labels these instincts as sin. Paine's view originates in his Quaker up bringing, which he then perverts and intermixes with his concept of Reason to make up his odd belief and questionable belief system.

Paine also rests some of his arguments on the new definition that he gives to the word Revelation. He redefines the word to meet his desires. The problem with this argument is that when debating the usage of a word relating to a topic thousands of years earlier it is necessary to use the definition of word at that time. By changing the definition of the word thousands of years later you do not invalidate how it has been used for centuries. This argument is also a logical fallacy called the Straw man in which Paine creates his own new definition of the word and argues against his own definition and not the actual topic.

Much of Paine's view on Reason comes from ethnocentric thinking that He (educated to the level of a 12 year old boy) has a superior ability to think than those who have lived in the past. Paine views himself as an enlightened thinker when in fact the opposite is true. He values the usage of Reason in gaining wisdom, but the Reason that Deism promotes is ignorance. It involves a lack of study or research, and is simply the concept of "Believe whatever you reason without considering anything other than your own opinions", and leaves man to his own devices. The problem is that the Bible documents the results of man being left to his own devices, and if REASON were really being applied then an enlightened thinker would STUDY and learn from the mistakes of those of the past to prevent themselves from falling into the same snares.

There is nothing enlightened about reasoning through ignorance. Much of Paine's problems with Christianity are not actually with the Word of God (as Paine claims they are), but are against man's hypocrisy and use of religion wrongfully. The Bible is also against these things, so Paine's attacks on the Bible are misdirected. Paine's argument that Christianity is wrong simple because other religions exist is foolish. One would not assume that all foods are poisonous simply because some of them are. If you do not want to eat poisonous food the answer does not lie in blindly making up your own recipes and biting into them hoping you wouldn't die, but lies in studying the good and bad recipes to determine where the poison is in order to use the correct recipe that will allow you to live; that is how REASON is to be used intelligently. If you are an enlightened thinker then you would analyze, evaluate, contemplate, understand, and reason to determine the truth. Making up your own philosophy based on what feels good to you is not enlightenment, and it is not even a new way of thinking; this error is commonly documented in the Bible.

Paine's arguments show only a superficial understanding of the Bible. If he were to put effort into studying the Bible and applying reason to it then his questions and objections to it would be answered. He would also be able to answer why some religions are false ones and why they are so. As it is Paine argues that all religion say they are right and since they all cannot be right Paine assumes that none of them can be right. This is another error in his reasoning. Certainly there are an infinite number of examples of people doing things wrong, but someone else being capable of doing it right.

Common Sense: and Other Writings (Modern Library Classics)

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Common Sense: and Other Writings (Modern Library Classics)
Thomas Paine
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0375760113
Release Date: 2003-02-11

Book Description

Includes the complete texts of Common Sense; Rights of Man, Part the Second; The Age of Reason (part one); Four Letters on Interesting Subjects, published anonymously and just discovered to be Paine’s work; and Letter to the Abbé Raynal, Paine’s first examination of world events; as well as selections from The American Crises

In 1776, America was a hotbed of enlightenment and revolution. Thomas Paine not only spurred his fellow Americans to action but soon came to symbolize the spirit of the Revolution. His elegantly persuasive pieces spoke to the hearts and minds of those fighting for freedom. He was later outlawed in Britain, jailed in France, and finally labeled an atheist upon his return to America.

Common Sense: and Related Writings (The Bedford Series in History and Culture)

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Common Sense: and Related Writings (The Bedford Series in History and Culture)
Thomas Paine
Manufacturer: Bedford/St. Martin's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312201486

Book Description

This edition of the pamphlet is unique in its inclusion of selections from Paine's other writings from 1775-1776--additional essays that contextualize Common Sense and provide unusual insight on both the writer and the cause for which he wrote. The volume introduction focuses on Paine's childhood and early adult years in England, arguing for the significance of personal experience, environment, career, and religion in understanding Paine's influential political writings.

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