Common Sense (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Isaac Kramnick (Editor) "AMERICANS fought Englishmen on the battlefields of the new world in January 1776, even as, among themselves, they debated the nature and purpose of those..." (more)
Key Phrases: Great Britain

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"These are the times that try men's souls," begins Thomas Paine's first Crisis paper, the impassioned pamphlet that helped ignite the American Revolution. Published in Philadelphia in January of 1776, Common Sense sold 150,000 copies almost immediately. A powerful piece of propaganda, it attacked the idea of a hereditary monarchy, dismissed the chance for reconciliation with England, and outlined the economic benefits of independence while espousing equality of rights among citizens. Paine fanned a flame that was already burning, but many historians argue that his work unified dissenting voices and persuaded patriots that the American Revolution was not only necessary, but an epochal step in world history.

Review

Well orated. The language and sentiment are not as outmoded as some listeners might expect and it definitely feels patriotic... -- KLIATT Magazine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (November 18, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140390162
• ISBN-13: 978-0140390162
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #102,150 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The birth-day of a new world is at hand. . .", November 16, 2001

By	Michael J. Mazza (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

Thomas Paine's "Common Sense," first published in 1776, is one of the essential classics of United States literature. In the book, Paine lays the philosophical groundwork for American independence.

Paine's writing style is still compelling after more than two centuries: he is fiery but logical, and bitingly witty. The book is full of great quotable passages.

In the book Paine sharply criticizes the institution of monarchy, especially the hereditary kind. He argues in favor of American independence from England, and proposes some principles for the government of such an independent state. He advocates "the free exercise of religion" and discusses in some detail issues of national defense.

It is remarkable how relevant Paine's comments remain, and how engaging his writing style is. His remarkable personality animates every page. The spirit of Thomas Paine is, in my opinion, at the core of what is best about the United States, and this book is part of the heritage of every U.S. citizen.

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every American Should Read "Common Sense", April 8, 2002

By	Melvin Pena (Evanston, IL United States) - See all my reviews

Thomas Paine's January 1776 pamphlet, "Common Sense," is one of those documents of American culture which goes all too frequently neglected these days. Paine's insistent call for independence from Great Britain in the winter before the Second Continental Congress was instrumental in mobilizing public opinion and popular support for political and economic freedom. Economics and social values form the basis of Paine's critique of the British presence in the American colonies, and he never loses sight of either his purpose or his rationale throughout the course of his argument. "Common Sense" follows a logical schematic - from a general philosophical explication of human government, to a critique of the current state of British government, to an analysis of the American situation particularly, and even includes a general plan for an independent American government following independence. "Common Sense" is remarkable for Paine's diagnosis of the American situation, Paine having been only 14 months in the colonies when it was published, and for its eloquence and exhortative value.

Paine begins by outlining human nature as he sees it. In a fascinating inversion of Thomas Hobbes, he notes that monarchy at the present time creates a situation wherein government is as effective as it would be if there were no government at all. The nearly anarchic state of nature defies the logical purpose of government. Paine says that people form societies naturally, and form governments only because human morality is not perfect. The end of government is to protect the right to property and religious freedom. Paine favours a representative democracy wherein there is frequent turn-over, and where the common interests of the people are consulted and catered to. Finally, he argues for the rule and sovereignty of law against the arbitrary and absurd rule of kings and men.

He contrasts this with the British model, in which government seems only to serve the interests of the King and the aristocracy. Taxation, as a primary example, allows hereditary rulers, who are inherently removed from the interests of the industrious people they govern, to live off their subjects without contributing anything of substance to the society or the polis. Paine insists that the province of government is not to regulate the lives of the citizens; instead, it must create and protect an arena where free competition in the marketplace will allow people to pursue their own best interests. With a minimum of government, civil society, Paine believes, can administer itself. In one of his most clever lines, Paine says that if an American government can only see to the protection of its own economy and exports, it will flourish "and will always have a market while eating is the custom of Europe".

The impetus for "Common Sense" is the current of thought that suggested reconciliation with Britain is preferable to independence. In an American public sphere anxious about its relationship to Britain, Paine provides encouragement to debate and discussion with all the subtlety of a street-corner millennarian. Citing the inevitability of a split between the colonies and Britain, and emphasizing that the legacy of America is at stake in the choices of the present moment, Paine calls the drive to independence "the cause of all mankind". In persuasive and urgent, nearly prophetic language, Paine makes a case for the political, economic, and historical implications of American independence.

Of course, "Common Sense" is not without its problems. Paine's discussion of natural and artificial distinctions within society and government is problematic at its intersections with gender and race. Paine's strange thematic of government and prostitution reflects 18th century gender standards; and he never seems comfortable with the issues of African slavery in America or the 'problem' of Native Americans. In this context, it is easy to see, in Paine's assessment of whether independence should be pursued now or later, a prefigurement of the political and economic bases of the American Civil War. Isaac Kramnick's extensive and exhaustive introduction to this Penguin Classics edition of "Common Sense," though nearly 30 years old, sets Paine's achievement in firm and understandable contexts of its philosophical, historical, and biographical origins. An excellent edition of a work that every American, if not everyone, owes it to themselves to read.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that changed the world , November 2, 2005

By	Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Very few books have great influence and truly make a change in the world. This book is one of them. It was a decisive element in promoting the idea of an America free of monarchial, British rule. Paine writes with passion but also with clear, cold sense as to why the colonies should for economic, social and moral reasons cast off the yoke of British rule. In doing so he promotes the ideal of a democratic society which will benefit not a privileged few but the people as a whole.
This is one of the great American political works and its publication in itself a milestone of American history.