The Political Philosophy of Thomas Paine
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Johns Hopkins University Press
Published:14th Feb '12
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This paperback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback£43.00(9780801892844)
This concise, thoughtful introduction to the work of Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense and Rights of Man, explores the impact of one of the most influential minds of the American and French Revolutions and the sources from which his thinking evolved. In Jack Fruchtman Jr.'s helpful interpretation, Paine built his argument for radical revolution in 1776 on a study of nature and Providence and a belief in natural rights. Men and women owed it to themselves to break the chains of rank, hierarchy, and even organized religion in order to live freely, embracing the possibilities of invention, progress, and equality that lay ahead. In 1793, at the height of the French Revolution and its secularizing fury, Paine reminded readers that it was nature's God who created natural rights. The rights of man thus held out both the great potential of freedom and the requirement that human beings be responsible for those who were the least fortunate in society. On balance we may think of Paine as a secular preacher for the rule of reason.
A compelling portrait of Thomas Paine as a serious, complex, and often surprising writer... This is a very useful volume for new students of US political thought, as well as for scholars seeking a quick but illuminating overview of Paine's writings and philosophy. Choice 2010 Fruchtman's concise analysis is tightly focused... A coherent vision of Paine's work, encompassing his many contradictions. Times Literary Supplement 2010 An insightful addition to a literature on an under-appreciated democratic theorist. -- Mario Feit New Political Science 2010 After reading The Political Philosophy of Thomas Paine readers will recognise consistencies in Paine's work that reveal, if not a systematic 'political philosophy', certainly a marvellous political thinker. -- Jeffrey D. Hilmer Political Studies Review 2011 Jack Fruchtman's compact study of the political philosophy of Thomas Paine constitutes the fifth volume in the series, The Political Philosophy of the American Founders, edited by Garrett Ward Sheldon. Fruchtman's study adds more luster to the fine reputation already enjoyed by this series in progress... [T]he reader desirous of perusing a cogent and thought-provoking exposition and analysis of Paine's writings should consider reading, first, this monograph, multum in parvo, by Jack Fruchtman. Eighteenth-Century Intelligencer Fruchtman is a Paine enthusiast, and if this succinct account does not provide the same biographical stir one gets from other works (his earlier book included), it is nonetheless a great way for the newcomer to appreciate the range, diversity, and raw power and brilliance of Paine's ideas. Claremont Review of Books 2011
ISBN: 9781421404011
Dimensions: 216mm x 140mm x 14mm
Weight: 272g
224 pages