What Is The Differences Between Edmund Burke And Thomas Paine

In both Reflections on the Revolutions in France and Common Sense, 18th century writers Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine believe that mankind is entitled to certain natural rights. However, the two are in opposition concerning the best way in which these natural rights can be protected. In response to the revolutions occurring in France, Burke in his Reflections on the Revolutions in France expresses his concerns for Great Britain and urges his country to not be swayed in the passionate, yet cataclysmic revolutionary mindset corrupting France. In his writings, Burke remains adamant in his belief that the preservation of balance and order lies in adherence to historical precedent. In contrast to Burke, Paine in his highly influential pamphlet entitled

Unlike Burke, Paine believes that hereditary inheritance is the root of all evil “for all men being originally equals, no one by birth could have a right to set up his own family in perpetual preference to all others (Paine 15).” To establish inequalities between men based on human imagination is, in Paine’s perspective, blasphemous. Paine goes so far to state that,
“When a man seriously reflects on the idolatrous homage which is paid to the persons of the Kings, he need not wonder, that the Almighty, ever jealous of his honor, should disapprove of a form of government which so impiously invades the prerogative of heaven (Paine

Where Burke believed that the adherence of historical precedence through hereditary inheritance established peace and order, Paine saw revolution against hereditary inheritance as the key to peace. Through these opposing works, however, Burke and Paine became highly influential during times of great turmoil. While they may not have agreed on certain beliefs, they freely expressed themselves in a way that led many to exert their freedom of choice to make decisions unadulterated by the authority of