“It is the nature and intention of a constitution to prevent governing by party, by establishing a common principle that shall limit and control the power and impulse of party, and that says to all parties, thus far shalt thou go and no further. But in the absence of a constitution, men look entirely to party; and instead of principle governing party, party governs principle.”

—  Thomas Paine

1790s, First Principles of Government (1795)

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Thomas Paine 262
English and American political activist 1737–1809

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