Rights Of Man In this book Paine argues against monarchy and outlines the elements of a successful republic, including public education, pensions and relief of the poor and unemployed, all financed by income tax. Since its publication, Rights of Man has been celebrated, criticized, maligned and suppressed but in this book the polemicist and commentator Christopher Hitchens, Paine’s natural heir marvels at its forethought and revels in its contentiousness. He demonstrates how the book forms the philosophical cornerstone of the first democratic republic.