Editing Thomas Paine (section)

===''Agrarian Justice''===
His last pamphlet, ''[[Agrarian Justice]]'', published in the winter of 1795, opposed agrarian law and agrarian monopoly and further developed his ideas in the ''Rights of Man'' about how land ownership separated the majority of people from their rightful, natural inheritance and means of independent survival. The U.S. [[Social Security Administration]] recognizes ''Agrarian Justice'' as the first American proposal for an [[Pension|old-age pension]] and [[basic income]] or [[citizen's dividend]]. Per ''Agrarian Justice'':

<blockquote>In advocating the case of the persons thus dispossessed, it is a right, and not a charity ... [Government must] create a national fund, out of which there shall be paid to every person, when arrived at the age of twenty-one years, the sum of fifteen pounds sterling, as a compensation in part, for the loss of his or her natural inheritance, by the introduction of the system of landed property. And also, the sum of ten pounds per annum, during life, to every person now living, of the age of fifty years, and to all others as they shall arrive at that age.</blockquote>

In this pamphlet he argued "All accumulation of personal property, beyond what a man's own hands produce, is derived to him by living in society; and he owes on every principle of justice, of gratitude, and of civilization, a part of that accumulation back again to society from whence the whole came".<ref>{{cite book |title=Thomas Paine: Collected Writings |date=1995 |publisher=Library of America |page=408}}</ref>

Lamb argues that Paine's analysis of property rights marks a distinct contribution to political theory. His theory of property defends a libertarian concern with private ownership that shows an egalitarian commitment. Paine's new justification of property sets him apart from previous theorists such as [[Hugo Grotius]], [[Samuel von Pufendorf]] and [[John Locke]]. Lamb says it demonstrates Paine's commitment to foundational liberal values of individual freedom and moral equality.<ref>Lamb, Robert. "Liberty, Equality, and the Boundaries of Ownership: Thomas Paine's Theory of Property Rights." ''Review of Politics'' (2010), 72#3, pp. 483–511.<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref> In response to Paine's "Agrarian Justice", [[Thomas Spence]] wrote "''The Rights of Infants''" wherein he argued that Paine's plan was not beneficial to impoverished people because landlords would just keep raising land prices, further enriching themselves rather than giving the commonwealth an equal chance.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Marangos|first=John|date=2008-04-11|title=Thomas Paine (1737–1809) and Thomas Spence (1750–1814) on land ownership, land taxes and the provision of citizens' dividend|url=https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/03068290810861576/full/html|journal=International Journal of Social Economics|language=en|volume=35|issue=5|pages=313–325|doi=10.1108/03068290810861576|issn=0306-8293|access-date=March 11, 2021|archive-date=May 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508082911/https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/03068290810861576/full/html|url-status=live}}</ref>