By Eric Paine

Thomas Paine, Political And Social Thought. By Gregory Claey. Unwin & Hyman, 1989.

THE author concentrates for the most part on one of Paine’s best known political essays, Rights of Man. He dwells on the development of Paine’s thinking from his early American writing set against the backcloth of natural law and rights expounded by Locke, Burke and others. Republicanism and radicalism, together with Paine’s Quaker and deistic views. It analyses debates amongst historians and effectively demonstrates the underlying consistency in Paine’s thinking. 

Much consideration is given to the British reception of Rights of Man, and the successful efforts to abate temporarily the growth of the radical movement it inspired. 

The author makes a strong point when he says that Paine attempted to do in The Age of Reason, without the aid of ancient languages, or comparison of manuscripts, a deep historical reading of the bible, its inconsistencies, illogical assumptions and contradictions, whilst still retaining a very respectful tone when referring to the life of Christ. Thus, says Claey, many of the opponents of The Age of Reason conceded with Paine that a deep connection existed between theology and politics by accusing his followers, the Paineites, of aiming first to destroy Christianity so that the British constitution would naturally follow suit. 

The book is certainly a very stimulating read, tending to present a sophisticated new view of Paine. It has a good chronology and bibliography, good insights into how the repression of the 1790s was and the sad course of the French Revolution, combined to defeat the Paineite movement, but in no sense is it, or does it claim to be, a complete life of Thomas Paine.