[I]t is not in the power of Britain to do this continent justice: The business of it
will soon be too [difficult].. to be managed... by a power so distant from
us, and so very ignorant of us
..
To be always running three or four thousand miles with a tale or a petition
[and] waiting four or five months for an answer will in a few years be
looked upon as folly and childishness.

Which statement summarizes Paine's argument in this passage?
A. A distant government cannot protect individual rights.
B. Self-government is a natural right that belongs to all peoples.
C. The British do not know enough about the colonies to govern them.
D. The British have benefited enough from their investment in the
colonies.