The Rights of Man

Drawing on arguments advanced throughout Part 1, Paine concludes that republican governments are rooted in reason, while hereditary governments thrive upon ignorance. In hereditary mixed governments—such as the one prevailing in Britain—no party takes full responsibility, making accountability difficult. Kings appoint ministers who operate in Parliament and the executive blends with the legislative. The division of governments into monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy is foolish, and the blending of the three equally so, for sovereignty resides only in the people, and a government of the people is a republic. Paine suggests that if all nations adopted this republican principle, then “the cause of wars would be taken away” (207). He even proposes something akin to an international organization, like the League of Nations or the United Nations, to abolish war. In the final paragraph, he declares the late-18th century “an age of revolutions, in which everything may be looked for” (211).