Common Sense 863ing of ourselves, so the second, claimed as a matter
of right, is an insult and imposition on posterity.”
His argument is twofold: While dependence on
authority is a sign of “self-incurred immaturity” (the
converse of Kant’s definition of Enlightenment) and
therefore results in the lack of freedom, it will also
affect the society as a whole, including its poster-
ity. Paine sees personal enlightenment not only as
the way to collective freedom but also as an ethical
exigency. That is why his Common Sense constantly
resorts to this moral imperative and seeks to bring
forth a sense of communal feeling. For example, he
ends the section on “Thoughts on the Present State
of American Affairs” with a passionate passage:
O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose,
not only the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand
forth! Every spot of the old world is overrun
with oppression. Freedom hath been hunted
round the globe. Asia, and Africa, have long
expelled her.—Europe regards her like a
stranger, and England hath given her warning
to depart. O! receive the fugitive, and prepare
in time an asylum for mankind.Paine firmly believes that freedom is not only the
way to a strong republic, but the beginning to a
strong global community. This aspect of moral
responsibility to the whole of humankind as derived
from personal freedom is, perhaps, always at the core
of his concept of freedom.
Huang-Hua Chen
oppreSSIon in Common Sense
Too often when people mention oppression, they
think of political, cultural, and economic exploita-
tion. It is true that Thomas Paine had these in
mind when he wrote Common Sense. However, he
not only prescribes remedies for these symptoms
of oppression, he also describes a collective inabil-
ity to fight against injustice and to seek out the
root of the dearth of “common sense” he sees in
his world.
It was natural for most Enlightenment thinkers
to trace their ideas back to the origin of political
oppression. They would imagine a scenario of the
first man, then the formation of society, and the
subsequent rise of the monarchy. Paine suggests
that a communal sense of society is the most natural
form of human congregation, whereas government
is usually created out of the necessity for evil. He
spends a whole section on the problem of monarchy
and hereditary succession because it is the reason
why the American people have to endure the British
rule. Here, Paine points out two important thoughts
about oppression. First, political oppression is usu-
ally without a legitimate foundation; therefore,
people have the right to overthrow the government.
Second, it is by allowing oneself to be quiet and
defenseless that the root of the evil is able to prevail.
In other words, there is a collective unwillingness to
oppose what is unjust and illegitimate.
For Paine, it is obvious that the American people
are under the oppression of the British monarch.
He does not hesitate to point out right from the
beginning that in light of their long and violent
abuse of power, the British monarchs have oppressed
the American people. The more important ques-
tion, however, is why Americans should fight this
oppression and how they should go about doing
that. The later sections of Common Sense are devoted
to explaining why the American people should first
fight the delusion that the British are their friends;
for example, he suggests that the colonists still
depend on the protection of Great Britain and do
not have the courage to break away from what is
servitude. He says that the British monarchy is only
interested in protecting its own interest, not that
of the colonies. Indeed, while there is an implicit
familial link between Great Britain and the colonies,
the American people should be able to learn to stand
on their own and not succumb to tyranny. It is this
ability to be independent that helps one tell tyranny
from lawful rule.
At the end, oppression for Paine is never just a
matter of monarchial abuse of power; it is a result of
a lack of checks and balances. In this sense, Common
Sense serves as a cautionary tale that shows what
would happen if one fails to be one’s own master. At
the same time, it also offers hope for those who are
silenced. Just as the title suggests, if it is common-
sensical to fight against tyranny and oppression, it is
also a wish that “common sense” exists in everyone.
Huang-Hua Chen