Civil Disobedience: Are We Morally Obliged to Obey Unjust Laws?

Are we morally obliged to obey even unjust laws? This question raises the discussion of what we call civil disobedience. Elliot Zashin, author of Civil Disobedience and Democracy, defines civil disobedience as, “a knowing violation of public norm (considered binding by local authorities but which may ultimately be invalidated by the courts) as a form of protest: it is non-revolutionary, public, and nonviolent (i.e. there is no use of physical violence except self-defensively when participants are physically attacked, and no resistance to arrest if made properly and without undue force).” (Zashin, 118) One point that Carl Cohen, associate professor of philosophy at University of Michigan, thinks is essential to the definition is that the, “mere knowledge of the unlawfulness does not make it civil disobedience…the civil disobedient must do more than knowingly break the law. Absolutely essential is the further element of protest.” (Cohen, 11) In other words, civil disobedience is knowingly breaking a law to protest the law. This may not be as controversial as some topics, but there are many strong points on both sides.

A major objection is tied to the idea of social contract theory as well as extreme faith in the proper workings of the judicial and legislative systems. According the this objection, the government of the United States, which calls itself democratic, for instance, is set up to listen to the needs of the people and to make laws accordingly. There is no need to protest or to “civilly disobey” because the government’s job is to take care of such problems. Socrates, a Greek philosopher, when forced with a suicide execution refused escape because he had profited from the laws of Athens thus far, was given a...

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

· Cohen, Carl, Civil Disobedience, Tactics and the Law. 1971, Columbia University Press: NY. Pgs: 3, 5, 6, 9, and 11.

· “Declaration of Independence” ONLINE: http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/declaration_transcript.html. 20 Nov 03

· Singer, Peter, Practical Ethics: Second Edition. 1993, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK. Pgs: 298-306

· Smith, Michael P, et al, Political Obligation and Civil Disobedience Readings. 1972, Thomas Y. Crowell Company: NY. Pgs. 179, 180, and 183.

· Suber, Peter, “Civil Disobedience.” ONLINE: http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/writing/civ-dis.htm. 19 Nov 03.

· Zashin, Elliot M., Civil Disobedience and Democracy. 1971, The Free Press: NY. Pgs. 118, and 131.