The American writer, Thomas Paine, (born January 29, 1737, Thetford, Norfolk, England—died June 8, 1809, New York, New York, U.S.)  was the first major figure to argue for a fairly comprehensive system of social security benefits to prevent and alleviate poverty and has, as a result, been described by some as the ‘prophet of the modern welfare state’ He claimed that the british colonies should sever their ties to England once and for all, establish a democratic government with a written constitution, and thus gain the advantages of free trade and freedom from being constantly dragged into European wars. His social security programme was tied to his political system, for he strongly believed that it could only be fulfilled in a democratic society. Vice versa, democracy, he argued, would be enhanced and strengthened by the implementation of a social security system.