ORIGINS OF MODERNITY

political philosophy

Paine, Thomas (1737-1809)
Rights of man : being an answer to Mr. Burke's attack on the French Revolution.
3rd edition
London : Printed for J.S. Jordan ... , 1791.

Thomas Paine, the English-born political theorist and activist wrote this work in response to Edmund Burke's critique of the French Revolution. Paine shows the deep influence of Locke's political philosophy arguing that natural law and right reason are accessible to all and that sovereignty does not derive from class membership. Paine lived in France and the United States of America where he became a polemicist for the American Revolution.