“The trade of governing has always been monopolized by the most ignorant and the most rascally individuals of mankind.”

—  Thomas Paine

Earliest citation to Paine appears to be in &quot;Freedom: A Journal of Anarchist Communism Vol. XXIV&quot; https://books.google.com/books?id=ITYfh67DKncC&amp;pg=RA11-PA33&amp;lpg=RA11-PA33&amp;dq=The+trade+of+governing+has+always+been+monopolized+by+the+most+ignorant+and+the+most+rascally+individuals+of+mankind.&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=8DHXw2Ix1C&amp;sig=ACfU3U3Bk_9QoyDZh_LDcoEB83cEaDWTcQ&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjp3I6MqOXxAhW2KVkFHfEsDb0Q6AEwBXoECBEQAw#v=onepage&amp;q=The%20trade%20of%20governing%20has%20always%20been%20monopolized%20by%20the%20most%20ignorant%20and%20the%20most%20rascally%20individuals%20of%20mankind.&amp;f=false. Not found in any of his works. <br class="br">Misattributed

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Thomas Paine262
English and American political activist 1737–1809

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