The Devil's Work

Edit 2:  Nvm, I can't read.  I'll leave the previous edit in for emphasis and this.  When you kow tow to a king, you kow tow to Sataaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan...
Edit:  I forgot to mention the reason for today's blog title.  I believe I had it in here somewhere but must I have taken it out or something.  Paine argues the institution of Kings is the Devil's greatest work.  That Devil, he's a tricky one!

Common Sense by Thomas Paine is free on Amazon Kindle.  Pick it up.  It would be interesting to look into the history of how and when Mr. Paine's name became attached to the pamphlet.  It was originally published anonymously.  Mr Paine, a prudent man, gave value to the dividends his head paid when firmly attached to his body.  Arguing the legitimacy of a monarch is best done anonymously, especially when the most powerful monarch in the world in 1775 is in question...

Anyway just a heads up.  Lots of good stuff  in here.  Paine points out the creation of Kings is the devil's greatest work.  The Bible warns of big government in any form the with idea, of course, you forsake your true king, when you worship an earthly one.  Kings, they are bad news.  Paine also describes the folly of governments created around checks and balances.  At the time the only government in the world that did this was the English limited monarchy/parliamentary system.  Basically, he said it's a farce.  Lets take a look, shall we.

He says, it assumes in a system of checks and balances that any one entity cannot be trusted without the others keeping an eye on it.  This also assumes the ones keeping an eye on one entity are better suited for that purpose.  So you get in this cyclical motion of the checks always need to be better suited than what they are checking when they are checking what is also checking them.  So basically, in human history the best form of government we've been able to produce requires it to be larger than necessary to keep tyranny at bay.  At anytime when more power is granted to one section, those new powers must be checked by another entity.  Thus growing government.  Reform, reform, reform...it all means the more you fuck with it the worse it gets.

It may sound like the proposition is a doomed one.  In that as humans advance the perceived needs of people grows, thus we need more government.  This proposes an entirely different question of why does it need to be government.  Anyway, we may discuss this later, I'm on my way home now.  I'll finish Common Sense as should everyone else and we will discuss later.