Glenn Beck's Common Sense: The Case Against an Out-of-Control Government, Inspired by Thomas Paine »

Glenn Beck, the nationally syndicated radio and Fox News television show host, is the author of three previous #1 New York Times bestsellers: An Inconvenient Book, Glenn Beck's Common Sense, and the novel The Christmas Sweater.  His children's version of The Christmas Sweater is forthcoming from Simon & Schuster and America's March to Socialism is available now from Simon & Schuster Audio or downloadable from Simon & Schuster Online. He is also the author of The Real America and publisher of Fusion magazine.

In any era, great Americans inspire us to reach our full potential. They know with conviction what they believe within themselves. They understand that all actions have consequences. And they find commonsense solutions to the nation's problems.

One such American, Thomas Paine, was an ordinary man who changed the course of history by penning Common Sense, the concise 1776 masterpiece in which, through extraordinarily straightforward and indisputable arguments, he encouraged his fellow citizens to take control of America's future-and, ultimately, her freedom.

Nearly two and a half centuries later, those very freedoms once again hang in the balance. And now, Glenn Beck revisits Paine's powerful treatise with one purpose: to galvanize Americans to see past government's easy solutions, two-part monopoly, and illogical methods and take back our great country.

A Note from the Author vii

Glenn Beck's Common Sense (2009)

Introduction 3

I The Reshaping and Redefining of America 8

II Money: The Real Opiate of the Masses 21

III The Political Weapon of Choice: The U.S. Tax Code 36

IV The Perks and Privileges of the Political Class 46

V The Cancer of Progressivism 63

VI Is It a Rising or a Setting Sun? 102

The 9.12 Project 109

The 9 Principles 109

The 12 Values 109

Let Your Journey Begin Here 110

Additional Reading 110

Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776)

Introduction 115

Of the Origin and Design of Government in General, with Concise Remarks on the English Constitution 117

Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession 125

Thoughts on the Present State of American Affairs 136

Of the Present Ability of America, with Some Miscellaneous Reflections 155

Sources 169