5 Thomas Paine Quotes on Society

Thomas Paine quotes on society

2. Man is not the enemy of man but through the medium of a false system of government.

7. 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 a patron, the last a punisher.

8. 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.

10. Of more worth is one honest man to society and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived.

14. It is of the utmost danger to society to make it [religion] a party in political disputes.