Thursday, September 27, 2012

Paine: Society & Government

"SOME writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. 

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. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. 

The first is a patron, the last a punisher."
-Thomas Paine, 1776

No comments:

Post a Comment