The Thammasat University Libraries have newly acquired a book by the American journalist Thomas Paine (1737 –1809), whose ideas were especially influential in the 1700s. The Selected Work of Tom Paine & Citizen Tom Paine by Howard Fast is inspired by the ideas that some basic human rights are valid in all countries. It is natural that Ajarn Adul Wichiencharoen, who generously donated his collection of books to the TU Libraries, should have owned this volume, among many others which he studied. Like the other titles in this remarkable donation, The Selected Work of Tom Paine is shelved on the Underground 2 level of the Pridi Banomyong Library, and like other books there, it is a circulating title. This suggests that Ajarn Adul’s wise preference is that books be read and experienced and not just stored on shelves to be admired as a form of interior decoration. Thomas Paine worked for a living as a corset maker, producing articles of clothing that squeezed women’s shapes into an ideal that was appreciated in the 1700s. Perhaps because he worked at an everyday job, his writing style was relatively plain for the 1700s, and he can still be read with enjoyment today. He was known by the nickname of Tom Paine instead of his full given name of Thomas because he presented himself as an average type of individual, not someone remote from common experience. That is one reason why writers of Thai English in The Bangkok Post and The Nation still quote Paine’s words to make forceful points in editorials. Although he was born in England, Paine moved to America just in time to write a popular text, Common Sense (1776), arguing that America should no longer be a colony of Great Britain. Because of his direct writing style, Paine was read and appreciated by many people of all educational levels. His books were also admired by such American presidents as Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. Many of his ideas are best considered in the context of the 1700s when he wrote them, but some are still valid today. In his Rights of Man, Paine stated:
The circumstances of the world are continually changing, and the opinions of man change also; and as government is for the living, and not for the dead, it is the living only that has any right in it.
His point was that comments made in the 1700s may no longer apply to reality centuries later, and it is up to us as readers today to evaluate whether older ideas are still valid. As a bold and fearless writer, Paine also asserted:
He who dares not offend cannot be honest.
In America and England of the 1700s, people could often be very rude to one another, but they would sometimes try to seem as if they were polite. Paine observed that sometimes it was necessary to take the risk of being offensive, in order to directly express observations about reality. This is the sort of observation that translates well on the world scene, as anyone who has a new idea anywhere is naturally concerned if it will annoy others. Ajarn Adul served as a member of the National Environment Board and director of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), among other heavy responsibilities. There he surely experienced the conflict expressed by Paine about on the one hand, beiong frank and candid about giving advice, and on the other, about not wishing to offend whoever would be listening. In Common Sense, Paine felt that the American experience was symbolic of challenges faced by all countries, and many readers have agreed with this point of view. Paine wrote:
The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind.
From the number of books in his personal library about American history, politics, and culture, it is certain that Ajarn Adul spent much time considering the American example. Sometimes he did not approve of what he saw in America, for example during the time of his graduate studies at Georgetown University (1951-1952) and the American University in Washington, D C (1952-1953) where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1954. Even so, American experience was a useful measuring point of how the Kingdom could grow and develop. Sometimes Paine made grand statements that may seem overexcited or just wrong to readers today, as when he wrote:
We have it in our power to begin the world over again.
Even at a time of social and governmental change, we know that the world is not really beginning over again; we have the same world that we started with, even after many changes. Paine argued:
I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense.
As a writer in the 1700s, he was certainly less fancy than many other noted authors, but his style or vocabulary may still seem challenging in places, even to native speakers of the English language. For Thai readers today, some pages written by Paine are definitely in exotic, old style English. So like all his statements, this one should be considered as a starting place for thinking, and not to be taken literally. Paine encouraged independent thought, and surely Ajarn Adul appreciated this emphasis on the value of pondering circumstances to arrive at the best possible solution for the most people:
When men yield up the exclusive privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon.
Paine opposed human slavery, even though it was well established in the economies of England and America in the 1700s:
A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom.
Just because something is an established tradition does not always mean that it is right. Pointing out that a tradition such as slavery is not fair may cause an uproar, since people have grown used to certain ways of life. This is another situation that translates easily through the centuries and across oceans, which Ajarn Adul must have encountered as well. Paine’s advice prepares us for a loud reaction to any suggestion that may counteract many years of precedent. Whatever may be suggested or not for possible changes, being informed is essential:
Where knowledge is a duty, ignorance is a crime.
- “Public Good” (December 1780).
One of the reasons why Ajarn Adul enjoys such widespread respect and admiration is that his intellectual curiosity and appetite for knowledge in many different fields make it impossible for him to be guilty of ignorance. Visiting his personal collection of books today, which inspired so many innovative ideas, is a rare privilege for all readers at the Pridi Banomyong Library.
(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)