Government Is a Necessary Evil
8 November 2011
ENG 221
Dr. West A Government is a necessary evil
Authors have debated the role of governments for hundreds of years. Two of these authors, are Thomas Paine and Henry David Thoreau. "In Common Sense by Thomas Paine, he expresses his opinion on how the government is a "necessary evil", and in the 21st century the government still appears to be evil." Thoreau also expresses his concern with a government in “Civil Disobedience”. Both of these authors had valid opinions, and if they still were alive today they would be outraged with the U.S. Government.
Paine was a hard working man. He participated in many events throughout his life, including fighting in the American Revolution. There was no doubt that Paine was a patriotic man, he simply did not agree with the values and ideas of a government. He had a strong concern for the rights of men, and expressed it clearly through his literary work, Rights of men. Michael Williams states in “Visionaries and Sceptics: Tom Paine and some Contemporaries”, “While Paine shares their concerns with the rights of women, his principal focus is on the revolutions he witnessed in America, and later in France, on the deleterious effects of tyrannical government, and on an idealistic vision of the future, once these effects are eliminated.”(Williams p.1).This shows that Paine was not only concerned with the ideas of a government; he was well rounded and cared for many people. He was not a stubborn, grouchy man that did not agree with authority. Paine wanted to fix the problems in the government. Paine was not naive, and he realized that the government will always be around. He was looking for a way to make it better. He knew that without a government there would be no order.
Williams also states” The first section of Common Sense is headed as ‘the origin and design of government in general’, and it offers a sustained attack on the principles of monarchy and, in particular, those of the English
ENG 221
Dr. West A Government is a necessary evil
Authors have debated the role of governments for hundreds of years. Two of these authors, are Thomas Paine and Henry David Thoreau. "In Common Sense by Thomas Paine, he expresses his opinion on how the government is a "necessary evil", and in the 21st century the government still appears to be evil." Thoreau also expresses his concern with a government in “Civil Disobedience”. Both of these authors had valid opinions, and if they still were alive today they would be outraged with the U.S. Government.
Paine was a hard working man. He participated in many events throughout his life, including fighting in the American Revolution. There was no doubt that Paine was a patriotic man, he simply did not agree with the values and ideas of a government. He had a strong concern for the rights of men, and expressed it clearly through his literary work, Rights of men. Michael Williams states in “Visionaries and Sceptics: Tom Paine and some Contemporaries”, “While Paine shares their concerns with the rights of women, his principal focus is on the revolutions he witnessed in America, and later in France, on the deleterious effects of tyrannical government, and on an idealistic vision of the future, once these effects are eliminated.”(Williams p.1).This shows that Paine was not only concerned with the ideas of a government; he was well rounded and cared for many people. He was not a stubborn, grouchy man that did not agree with authority. Paine wanted to fix the problems in the government. Paine was not naive, and he realized that the government will always be around. He was looking for a way to make it better. He knew that without a government there would be no order.
Williams also states” The first section of Common Sense is headed as ‘the origin and design of government in general’, and it offers a sustained attack on the principles of monarchy and, in particular, those of the English
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