Rights of Man

RIGHTS OF MAN ABOUT THE BOOK Rights of Man (1791-2) was the most famous defence of the French Revolution. The book containing 31 articles, concludes in proposing practical reformations of English government: a written Constitution composed by a national assembly, in the American mould. It further recommends the elimination of aristocratic titles, because democracy is incompatible with primogeniture, which leads to the despotism of the family. It proposes a national budget without allotted military and war expenses; lower taxes for the poor, and subsidised education for them; and a progressive income tax weighted against wealthy estates to prevent the re-emergence of a hereditary aristocracy. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Thomas Paine was born in Thetford in the English county of Norfolk. Paine migrated to the British American colonies in 1774 with the help of Benjamin Franklin, arriving just in time to participate in the American Revolution. He was a political philosopher and promoted change through revolution rather than reform. He is renowned for his activities advocating democracy. His book Rights of Man was written as an answer to Edmund Burke's ideas on the revolution in France. Paine had the belief that men have “natural rights” and he urges individuals to free themselves from the tyranny of the government.