For the Living: Thomas Paine’s Generational Democracy

Abstract

This article shows that Thomas Paine’s political theory defends what I call generational democracy. Paine takes human mortality as a starting point to flesh out a conception of democracy that affirms the agency of the living. Generational democracy empowers the living to act as constitutional authors. The self-ennobling dimension of constitutional authorship and democratic socialization ensures a people capable of improving constitutions in ways that enhance democratic agency. The strengthening of democratic agency is also central to Paine’s right to welfare, which redresses legacies of economic injustice by creating substantial equality between generations. Welfare rights enhance the agency of the living by providing for economic opportunity and by securing agency in the face of impending death. Generational democracy achieves intergenerational justice and care for the future precisely because it focuses on enhancing the democratic agency of the living generation.