Which philosopher is most closely associated with the liberal view of internationalrelations?

a. John Calvin

b. Thomas Hobbes

c. Immanuel Kant

d. Thomas Paine

Answer:

d. Thomas Paine

Explanation:

Born in England, Thomas Paine graduated from elementary school only. He was a pamphleteer, polemicist and one of the most prominent figures of the 18th century. His most notable works are: The Rights of Man (1792), The Age of Reason, The American Crisis, Common Sense, A Discussion on the First Principles of Government, and he also wrote the Republican Manifesto. The formation of his ideas was influenced by Newton, John Locke, Montesquieu, but also by his affiliation with the Quaker religious community. He considered man to be a social being by nature, and that the state was inevitably evil and the fruit of usurpation. He believed that natural rights were the origin and basis of state rights. In his view, the state is a social institution that was created on the basis of social contracts in the interest of securing civil rights and freedoms. He considered the most appropriate form of political organization of society to be a democratic republic. He participated in the drafting of the Declaration of Human and Citizen Rights and greatly influenced the creation of the American Declaration of Independence of 1776. He handed over the keys to the Bastille to George Washington (the first president of the Democratic Republic). He criticized the English constitution and elevated the importance of the French Revolution. He was an opponent of religion and the church. It is also significant in that it was the first to propose the US constitutional government, the first to advocate the emancipation of blacks, to propose national and international copyrights, to draft a plan for international arbitration, and to campaign for women's rights.