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Reflections on the Revolution in France is a slashing
attack on the French Revolution by one of Britain's most famous
statesmen. Liberty and social order, Burke argues, are maintained
by the traditional rights and duties embedded in custom and
law. And when these traditions are overthrown in revolutions,
society is threatened with chaos, bloodshed and despotism.
Rights
of Man - Thomas Paine believed the French Revolution was
based on the same principles as the
American Revolution:
natural rights, an implied "social
contract", and the right of revolution against
oppressive governments. Paine, unlike Burke, sees government
as the primary threat to social order. He has little regard
for traditional institutions, if those institutions are oppressive
and unjust.
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