"That government is best which governs least." Or is it? Should the American people be free to rebel against laws they consider unjust? Henry David Thoreau addresses these issues in his essay, Civil Disobedience. Thoreau wholeheartedly accepts the declaration that the government is best which governs least, and would like to see it acted upon. One day, he hopes, we will be able to carry it out to the point where men can have a government that does not govern at all. Government "never of itself furthered any enterprise". He claims that the character of the American people, rather than the government, has kept the country free, settled the west and educated the people. If the government had not interfered, the people would have accomplished even more. Thoreau goes on to claim that we should not decide what is 'right' by majority, but rather by individual conscience. If an individual believes a law to be unjust, he should not obey the law. Thoreau had some good, high-sounding ideas, but it appears he did not understand the reasoning behind some of what the government does. His views do not match up to the views found in the Constitution and the Bible.
Thoreau claims that we should not decide right by majority, but by conscience. The majority are not necessarily right; they are only in power because they are the strongest group of people. Any government in which the majority rules in all cases cannot be based on justice. Thoreau asks why there cannot be "a government in which majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, but conscience? ... Must the citizen... resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterwards." One should cultivate a res...
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... what is right and wrong morally will have complete power, which can easily lead to a tyrannical ruler.
Thoreau says we should not obey unjust laws - yet, if everyone did this, people would begin to call 'unjust' laws that they did not particularly like or that were hard to follow. In addition, this exhortation is completely against Biblical teaching. We are to obey governing authorities unless their laws go against God's law. Minorities can influence the government, but not in the way that Thoreau advises. We should instead be an influence as Peter counsels us to be an influence,
"For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king."
Throughout a series of books, and now movies known as Divergent they hit a lot of points as to what is believed as a “good society”. In the series, Divergent all must conform and fall into a certain category Dauntless, Abnegation, Erudite, Candor, or Amity . If one fails to do so, and falls into all of the categories they are known as “Divergent," and must be killed for failing to conform to traditional society standards and rules. This relates to Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau, because he talks about humans not needing a form of structure set by a hierarchy, such as a government. A good society according to Thoreau, is one with little to no government involvement, one that respects laws to a certain extent, and one that follows
In 1848, David Thoreau addressed and lectured civil disobedience to the Concord Lyceum in response to his jail time related to his protest of slavery and the Mexican War. In his lecture, Thoreau expresses in the beginning “That government is best which governs least,” which sets the topic for the rest of the lecture, and is arguably the overall theme of his speech. He chastises American institutions and policies, attempting to expand his views to others. In addition, he advances his views to his audience by way of urgency, analyzing the misdeeds of the government while stressing the time-critical importance of civil disobedience. Thoreau addresses civil disobedience to apprise the people the need for a civil protest to the unjust laws created
Without any government intervention, the state would be in shambles with no regulations on food, drugs, or the workforce. As for government based on conscience, Thoreau’s argument falls flat when he fails to recognize that majority rule is the only fair rule. Thoreau needed to learn that when friction takes over a machine, the machine is to be fixed, not thrown away. Evidently, Henry David Thoreau’s argument against organized government in America is much too flawed to be
Mahatma Gandhi, a prominent leader in the independence movement of India once said, “Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the state becomes lawless and corrupt.”(brainyquotes.com) Gandhi states that protest and civil disobedience are necessary when the authority becomes unscrupulous. This correlates to “Declaration of Independence,” by Thomas Jefferson; “Civil Disobedience,” by Henry David Thoreau; and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” by Martin Luther King Jr., because all three leaders felt that civil disobedience was important to help protest against an unjust ruling. Jefferson stood up to the injustice of the king by writing the Declaration of Independence and urged others to stand up for the independence of America. Thoreau exemplified
Although they bear some smashing similarities, the difference between Socrates and Thoreau’s arguments are they both believe that humans are only virtuous beings. And that their views on people and the government are divergent. In “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau, he wrote an essay in 1849 about the American policies being criticized it argues that people should not permit governments to overrule or impair their consciences, and how the American slavery and Mexican-American war was going on. He argues that the problems were really about changing the government and how it works. He states that he’s just basically washing his hands and refusing to follow any laws followed by the government. Since they strip of their powers from the
In his famous essay, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,’’ Martin Luther King, Jr. cites conscience as a guide to obeying just laws and defying unjust laws. In the same way, Henry David Thoreau wrote in his famous essay, “Civil Disobedience,” that people should do what their conscience tells them and not obey unjust laws. The positions of the two writers are very close; they use a common theme of conscience, and they use a similar rhetorical appeal of ethos.
In Thoreau’s view, he felt that the government was insufficient. At times such as these, government may not always be the best way to turn, yet it provides guidelines. This theme in his essay is just another opinion. Justice cannot be fully defined in one sentence by every person. It depends on the background and the experiences one has had.
...manner to the one suggested by Tocqueville, and I believe it is very conducive to the flourishing of the country. The rights of the minority are not only respected, but also championed as a point of pride. It is a culture of liberty to dissent with the majority when needed, balanced with the political equality of all eligible citizens. Such a balance is what allows a government to rule with efficacy while maintaining justice to the minority. This culture is a result of powerful leaders like Dr. King Jr., who fought against the majority with integrity. Leaders like Dr. King were able to break free of the social pressure that plagued the nation in Tocqueville’s time. Dr. King demanded equality and respect for the minority’s liberty to exercise their rights free of fear of retribution, turning a tyrannical majority into a majority that leads a flourishing democracy.
Thoreau was once sent to jail for refusing to pay his taxes and I support this episode of civil disobedience as justified. Thoreau did not pay his taxes because he objected the use of the revenue to finance the Mexican War and enforcement of slavery laws. He did not request for his money to be used for the enforcement of slavery laws, therefore felt he had the right to protest and act out civil disobedience. Paul Harris defines civil disobedience as "an illegal, public, nonviolent, conscientiously motivated act of protest, done by someone who accepts the legitimacy of the legal and political systems and who submits to arrest and punishment" (2). Before I supported his civil disobedience, I opted to see if it was justified.
Civil Disobedience occurs when an individual or group of people are in violation of the law rather than a refusal of the system as a whole. There is evidence of civil disobedience dating back to the era after Jesus was born. Jesus followers broke the laws that went against their faith. An example of this is in Acts 4:19-20,”God told the church to preach the gospel, so they defied orders to keep quiet about Jesus,” In my opinion civil disobedience will always be needed in the world. The ability to identify with yourself and knowing right from wrong helps to explain my opinion. Often in society when civil
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was a philosopher and writer who is well known for his criticism of the American government during the time. During Thoreau’s life, there were two major issues being debated in the United States: slavery and the Mexican-American War. Both issues greatly influenced his essay, as he actually practiced civil disobedience in his own life by refusing to pay taxes in protest of the Mexican War. He states that the government should be based on conscience and that citizens should refuse to follow the law and has the duty not to participate and stay as a member of an unjust institution like the government. I argue that the notion of individualism and skepticism toward government is essential in the basis of many important reform movements in the modern society.
Thoreau 's essay is both an abstract work of political theory and a practical and topical work addressing the issues of the day. On the one hand, Thoreau is making several theoretical claims about the nature of democracy and the relationship between citizen and government. For example, Thoreau argues that government should be based on conscience and that citizens should cease associating with an unjust government. Thus, Thoreau 's work must be considered as a work of political philosophy, invoking ideals and making claims about the way government and society should be
There are many differences between majority rule and minority rights. One of the big differences between the two is majority tyranny. This is when the majority violates the rights of minority’s. When the majority thinks they are in the right they may happen to pass judgment or abuse the minorities who opposes them. Majorities for a long time believed that political equality and political liberty doesn’t belong to the minorities. Minorities believed they have the right to speak or participant in whatever function they believed in.
In "Civil Disobedience," Thoreau criticizes the American government for its democratic nature, namely, the idea of majority ruling. Like earlier transcendentalists, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thoreau believes in the importance of the individual. In a society where there are many individuals with conflicting perceptions and beliefs, Emerson chooses passivity and isolation to avoid conflict with others. However, unlike Emerson, Thoreau rejects passivity and challenges his readers to stand up against the government that focuses on majorities over individuals. Thoreau argues that when power is in the hands of the people, the majority rules, "not because they are most likely to be in the right, nor because this seems fairest to the minority, but because they are physically the strongest" (Thoreau 64). Thoreau portrays this very fundamental element of democracy, w...
Thoreau claims the government has failed to bring any development in the country. For instance, it has failed in keeping the country free, has not educated the nation or settled the west. But he claims the American citizens are the one who have done what the nation has accomplished. Thoreau states that he calls for at once better government, but not for at once no government. To get an ideal government according to Thoreau, the citizens should be asked what kind of government that commands their