Common Sense Imagery

Common Sense Imagery

Reason

The title invokes the main imagery of the book. By Common Sense Paine means not "beliefs and ideas that are common." He means that the human faculty of reason is common, and as a sense, it can be employed strategically. When he applies his sense of reason, he finds that the emotions he feels with regard to the government are legitimate and philosophically uncanny. Within one pamphlet, he writes some of the most astonishingly persuasive argument of his time, along with a full blown strategy for how to go about revolting from the British and more importantly, how to successfully impose a new government to reign over a fledgling nation.

Order and government

The imagery of order is consistent with Paine's vision of an ideal government. He believes that by focusing on the human desire for order, a delicate and elegant government could be created with serious longevity, perhaps, since it would be rooted in dynamics of power. The power dynamic is orderly if it is held in balance, and Paine invokes deist theology to argue that humans are essentially worthy of sovereignty in their own life, so balance in Common Sense is displayed through the balance of a limited government with the sovereignty of the citizen.

Philosophy and monarchy

By philosophical abstraction, Paine deconstructs the concrete historical narrative surrounding monarchy. He argues that it is essentially wrong and contrary to common sense to establish a monarchical government when other versions of government were available. He says that monarchy is an extension of one specific person's will, leaving the death of monarchs a geopolitical nightmare, because the whole government changes whenever the monarch is recycled. Instead, he argues against monarchy in favor of some government institution which is governed by metaphysical principles, not human whim.

Victory and vision

There is one more kind of imagery that obviously deserves mention here: the visionary quality of Paine's point of view. In his mind, he can already see the fledgling nation standing on its feet for the first time. He can see the states, and he can already imagine the elected officials doing business in beautiful buildings somewhere. This pamphlet has such a beautiful and logically consistent vision that it literally inspired the country to buckle down and overthrow the dominion of the British. It also allured French aristocrats to help in that goal.

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