In 1776, Thomas Paine made the best case for fighting kings −and being skeptical

Erosion of Constitutional Safeguards and Fear of “Kings” in the US

• Several commenters connect Paine’s anti‑monarchy stance to current US politics, arguing that Congress has ceded unprecedented power to the presidency and that the Supreme Court’s recent decisions (e.g., on gerrymandering) have entrenched minority rule.
• Some see “irreparable holes” in the US Constitution; others think tyranny isn’t inevitable but fixing structural flaws via amendment or convention is politically impossible.
• There is debate over whether citizens should respond to rising authoritarianism with “our tyrant vs. their tyrant,” or try to hold to Paine‑style principles and skepticism.

Monarchy, Especially the British Royals

• Long subthread on whether constitutional monarchies should be abolished.
• Anti‑monarchy arguments: hereditary privilege is unjust, royals live off public funds, tourists would still come for history after abolition, monarchy failed to prevent democratic backsliding.
• Pro‑monarchy / cautious arguments:
  • Royals are largely ceremonial, serve as unifying symbols and “shared mythology,” and may deter would‑be dictators by providing a fallback head of state.
  • The institution may be economically net‑positive through tourism and controlled land use, though exact accounting is unclear.
  • Abolition would create constitutional headaches and might yield an embarrassing elected president.
• Some defend royal land arrangements and crown estates as a stabilizing compromise that prevents full asset sell‑offs; others argue that any government or trust could play that role without monarchy.

Rule of Law, Religion, and Prosperity

• Paine’s “the law is king” is linked to modern research on rule of law and national prosperity.
• Several see current US reality as “money is king,” with elites breaking laws and avoiding enforcement.
• One commenter argues that Christianity historically reinforced principle over loyalty, helping maintain cooperative norms; others push back that religion also fuels authoritarianism and division, and that invoking it in a Paine context is ironic.
• Concern noted that some religious movements now fuse loyalty to God with temporal political loyalty.

Human Desire for “Kings” and Cults of Personality

• Commenters lament a deep human tendency toward deference and hero worship: turning politicians, tech leaders, celebrities, and influencers into “personal kings.”
• There is disagreement on how widespread this impulse is, but broad agreement that modern personality cults resemble quasi‑monarchic attitudes.

Paine’s Legacy and Economic Ideas

• Some praise Paine as a genuinely anti‑authoritarian, egalitarian figure whose ideas (e.g., land value tax, proto‑UBI‑like schemes) anticipate later georgist thought.
• Others question labeling his proposals as “basic income” and note his support for confiscating Loyalist property, complicating his liberal credentials.

Power Concentration Beyond Kings

• Several argue Paine’s critique applies not just to monarchs but to concentrated power in general (billionaires, bureaucracies, oligarchic media).
• Tension highlighted between needing collective power to restrain the powerful and the risk that such collective power becomes its own “king.”

Miscellaneous

• Brief exchanges about how much past thinkers could have imagined modern technology (e.g., “cotton candy” as a metaphor).
• One user shares a religious poem associated with Paine’s “church.”
• Some frustration expressed about the article being flagged, seen as a sign that even basic historical discussion is now treated as too controversial.