“Male and female are distinctions of nature, good and bad are distinctions of heaven; but how a race of men came into the world so exalted above the rest, and distinguished like some new species, is worth inquiring into, and whether they are the means of happiness or of misery to mankind”
From Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, these words were aimed straight at the heart of the monarchial lineage of hereditary succession that comprised the dominant political power structure of his day.
Though that power structure has changed significantly since Paine wrote, do his words still apply? Can expectations of power and privilege based on nothing more than ancestry or tribal affiliation still be found in the halls of power, in the boardroom, on the street?
Are some men born to rule the world? And if so, is it the means to happiness or misery?
thomas paine ruling class hereditary succesion as a means to power current events monarchs kings
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