Society in every state is a blessing, but government even, in its best state, is but a necessary evil in its worst state an intolerable one for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer. Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise. from Common Sense It is impossible to overstate influence of Thomas Paineidealist, radical, and master rhetoricianin the creation of America. With this incendiary pamphlet, published anonymously in early 1776, he gave voice to the discontent that gripped the British colonists in the New World with his cries for small government and personal liberty, and his calls to shrug off the tyranny of Crown led directly to the Declaration of Independence only months later. He was the premiere political "blogger" of his day, a man Thomas Edison called "one of the greatest of all Americans," and one todays liberals and progressives still claim as their intellectual forefather. Everyone who values freedomof speech, of thought, of governanceand the ongoing fight required to maintain it must read and appreciate this, one of the foundational documents of the United States of America. Also available from Cosimo Classics Paines The Age of Reason OF INTEREST TO students of liberal philosophy, reader of American history...

Binding: Paperback;80 pages; Publisher: Cosimo Inc.; Classification: N/A; Weight: 217.07 g; Dimensions: N/A

Something not quite right? You have 21 days from the day you receive it, to send something back. When you purchase Debenhams Deliver+, you will have an extra 14 days on top of our standard 21-day window to initate a return.

Please note, we cannot offer refunds on fashion face masks, cosmetics, pierced jewellery, adult toys, and swimwear or lingerie if the hygiene seal is not in place or has been broken.

Items of footwear and/or clothing must be unworn and unwashed with the original labels attached. Also, footwear must be tried on indoors. Items of homeware including bedlinen, mattresses, and toppers, and pillows must be unused and in their original unopened packaging. This does not affect your statutory rights.

Click here to view our full Returns Policy.