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Paine wrote "The Rights of Man" as a response to "Reflections of the French Revolution" by Sir Edmund Burke. Burke (cited by many authors as an inspiration for modern conservatism) had attempted to make the case that some classes of people, due to their economic standing, were too "lowly" to be allowed to participate in governing themselves. He believed that it would do "great violence" if someone like a barber or shoe-maker were allowed to vote. Paine replied to his arguments with what was then considered a very liberal, even radical, idea. In "The Rights of Man" he made the argument that one is not unfit to make important decisions simply because of the social class they were born into.

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16y ago

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