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Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.
Thomas Paine
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Government is a necessary but flawed institution, capable of both good and evil.

Thomas Paine expresses a critical view of government, asserting that while it may serve essential functions in society, it inherently possesses characteristics of evil that can lead to oppression and tyranny. Even in its most effective form, government carries the burden of necessary control, highlighting the delicate balance between order and freedom.

Themes

GovernmentEvilSocietyControlFreedom

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion on political philosophy, to illustrate the complexities of governance.

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A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
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That God cannot lie, is no advantage to your argument, because it is no proof that priests can not, or that the Bible does not.
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I consider the war of America against Britain as the country's war, the public's war, or the war of the people in their own behalf, for the security of their natural rights, and the protection of their own property.
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Had the news of salvation by Jesus Christ been inscribed on the face of the sun and the moon, in characters that all nations would have understood, the whole earth had known it in twenty-four hours, and all nations would have believed it; whereas, though it is now almost two thousand years since, as they tell us, Christ came upon earth, not a twentieth part of the people of the earth know anything of it, and among those who do, the wiser part do not believe it.
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The end of all political associations is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man; and these rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance of oppression.
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To reason with goverments, as they have existed for ages, is to argue with brutes. It is only from the nations themselves that reforms can be expected
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