<![CDATA[Paine]]> Thomas Paine’s reputation has been a source of controversy since his own lifetime. He was a controversialist—what he wrote invariably provoked controversy and was intended to do so. As such, one needs a reasonably capacious understanding of ‘philosophy’ to count him as a philosopher. He was a pamphleteer, a journalist, a propagandist, a polemicist. Nonetheless, he also settled on a number of basic principles that have subsequently become central to much liberal-democratic culture. Few of these are original to Paine, but his drawing together of them, and his bringing them before a wide popular audience, at this key historical moment when the people emerge as a consistent and increasingly independent force on the political stages of Europe and North America, has ensured that his works remain widely read and are seen as of enduring value. That said, a great deal about his life and about the value and interpretation of his work is deeply contested and promises to remain so.

]]>https://brownsboard.com/topic/60246/paineRSS for NodeThu, 01 Oct 2026 07:20:11 GMTThu, 04 Feb 2021 16:57:45 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Paine on Sat, 06 Feb 2021 22:16:46 GMT]]>

@the-gipper said:

This is why I don't come on here.  The ignorance is so completely overwhelming.   This is the typical reaction of certain types who have absolutely no comprehension or care for where our political and governance principles have derived from. 

you didn't provide a link, it doesn't seem to have a point, not sure if you have one... don't see how it's relevant to anything

going on today.....I know about Thomas Paine.  So what? You looked it up so you can smart off to someone who didn't understand why you brought it up???

    and you are huffy about "zzzzzzzzzzzzzz" ?

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/989205https://brownsboard.com/post/989205Sat, 06 Feb 2021 22:16:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Paine on Sat, 06 Feb 2021 21:47:13 GMT]]>

@diehardbrownsfan said:

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz?

This is why I don't come on here.  The ignorance is so completely overwhelming.   This is the typical reaction of certain types who have absolutely no comprehension or care for where our political and governance principles have derived from. 

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/989201https://brownsboard.com/post/989201Sat, 06 Feb 2021 21:47:13 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Paine on Fri, 05 Feb 2021 01:47:06 GMT]]> zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz?

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/988976https://brownsboard.com/post/988976Fri, 05 Feb 2021 01:47:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Paine on Fri, 05 Feb 2021 01:30:22 GMT]]> I must say l’ve never read “Common Sense”, Paine’s influential pamphlet that argued for independence against Britain, but l remember reading about it in history class.

I pulled up the wiki page about it and l found it interesting that one of the things that spurned its success was that Paine and his publicist had a falling out and basically had a month long public argument in the pages of a Pennsylvania paper. From the wiki page.

”This set off a month-long public debate between Bell and the still-anonymous Paine, conducted within the pages and advertisements of the Pennsylvania Evening Post, with each party charging the other with duplicity and fraud. Paine and Bell published several more editions through the end of their public squabble.”

We still see this phenomenon today where we see people arguing about something and it piques the interest of everyone else. What’s all the fuss about? I should look into this. Basically any press is good press.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Sense

]]>https://brownsboard.com/post/988973https://brownsboard.com/post/988973Fri, 05 Feb 2021 01:30:22 GMT