Edmund Burke was a statesman and philosopher who favored gradual reform over revolution. Arguing that the ideology behind the French Revolution was too ephemeral, he predicted a disastrous outcome. Well regarded by the liberals of his day for his support of constitutional limitations on sovereign authority, his condemnation of religious persecution, and his sympathy for the grievances of the American colonists, Burke also gained the respect of conservatives when he published his "Reflections on the Revolution in France" in 1790. One of Paine's greatest and most widely read works, considered a classic statement of faith in democracy and egalitarianism, defends the early events of the French Revolution, supports social security for workers, public employment for those in need of work, abolition of laws limiting wages, and other social reforms.