A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
Thomas PaineRead
Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best stage, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Paine suggests that while society is inherently good, government is a necessary yet often flawed institution.
Thomas Paine's quote reflects the dual nature of government and society. He acknowledges that while society itself is a blessing that brings people together and fosters community, government is a construct that, despite its potential for good, often acts as an evil necessity imposed on society. In its worst forms, government can be oppressive and intolerable, highlighting the need for a balance in governance that serves the people rather than subjugating them.
Themes
SocietyGovernmentBlessingEvilPaine
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the role of government in modern society.
More from Thomas Paine
All quotes →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.
Thomas PaineRead
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.
Thomas PaineRead
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.
Thomas PaineRead
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.
Thomas PaineRead
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
Thomas PaineRead
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