Paine’s brief introduction makes Part 2’s most important argument explicit: There is a direct connection between a nation’s form of government and the condition of its people. In Europe and in Britain, Paine finds “hordes of miserable poor,” who are “the consequence of what in such countries is called government” (234). Furthermore, war is the primary method by which hereditary governments enslave the people. Wars mean debts, debts require taxes, and taxes redistribute wealth upward. 

Although Part 2 also builds on arguments introduced in Part 1—in particular those related to constitutions—Paine’s explicit connections between war, poverty, and hereditary government introduce a new key element of his thought. His aversion to war, coupled with his focus on improving the lot of the common man, represents both one of Part 2’s most important arguments and is one of Paine’s most revolutionary ideas more generally.